Editing Surname (section)

== Origins of particular surnames ==

===Patronymic and matronymic surnames=== <!-- [[Ancestral surname]] redirects here -->
{{Main|Patronymic surname|Matronymic surname}}
{{See also|Icelandic name|Habesha name|Arabic name|Hebrew name}}
{{Category see also|Patronymic surnames|Matronymic surnames}}
These are the oldest and most common type of surname.<ref name="hanks" /> They may be a first name such as "Wilhelm", a [[patronymic]] such as "[[Andersen]]", a [[matronymic]] such as "[[Beaton (surname)|Beaton]]", or a clan name such as "[[O'Brien dynasty|O'Brien]]". Multiple surnames may be derived from a single given name: e.g. there are thought to be over 90 Italian surnames based on the given name "[[Giovanni (name)|Giovanni]]".<ref name="hanks">[[Patrick Hanks|Hanks, Patrick]] and Hodges, Flavia. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1989. {{ISBN|0-19-211592-8}}.</ref> [[File:Icelandic Patronyms.svg|thumb|250px|A family tree showing the Icelandic patronymic naming system]]

====Examples====
* '''Patronal''' from patronage (''Hickman'' meaning Hick's man, where Hick is a pet form of the name Richard) or strong ties of religion ''Kilpatrick'' (follower of [[Patrick (given name)|Patrick]]) or ''Kilbride'' (follower of Saint [[Brigid of Kildare]]).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hanks |first1=Patrick |year=2022 |title=Dictionary of American Family Names |language= |volume= |edition=2nd |publication-place= |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=42 |no-pp= |isbn= }}</ref>
* '''[[Patronymic]]s, [[matronymic]]s or ancestral''', often from a person's given name. e.g., from male name: ''[[Richardson (surname)|Richardson]]'', ''[[Stephenson]]'', ''[[Jones (surname)|Jones]]'' (Welsh for Johnson), ''[[Williams (surname)|Williams]]'', ''[[Jackson (name)|Jackson]]'', ''[[Wilson (surname)|Wilson]]'', ''[[Thompson (surname)|Thompson]]'', ''[[Benson (surname)|Benson]]'', ''[[Johnson (surname)|Johnson]]'', ''[[Harris (surname)|Harris]]'', ''[[Evans (surname)|Evans]]'', ''[[Simpson (surname)|Simpson]]'', ''[[Willis (surname)|Willis]]'', ''[[Davies]]'', ''[[Reynolds (surname)|Reynolds]]'', ''[[Adams (surname)|Adams]]'', ''[[Dawson (surname)|Dawson]]'', ''[[Lewis (surname)|Lewis]]'', ''[[Rogers (surname)|Rogers]]'', ''[[Murphy]]'', ''[[Morrow (surname)|Morrow]]'', ''[[Nicholson (surname)|Nicholson]]'', ''[[Robinson (name)|Robinson]]'', ''[[Powell (surname)|Powell]]'', ''[[Ferguson (name)|Ferguson]]'', ''[[Davis (surname)|Davis]]'', ''[[Edwards (surname)|Edwards]]'', ''[[Hudson (surname)|Hudson]]'', ''[[Roberts (surname)|Roberts]]'', ''[[Harrison (name)|Harrison]]'', ''[[Watson (surname)|Watson]]'', or female names ''Molson'' (from Moll for Mary), ''[[Madison (name)|Madison]]'' (from Maud), ''Emmott'' (from Emma), ''Marriott'' (from Mary) or from a clan name (for those of Scottish origin, e.g., ''[[Macdonald (name)|MacDonald]]'', ''[[Clan Forbes|Forbes]]'', ''[[Henderson (surname)|Henderson]]'', ''[[Armstrong (surname)|Armstrong]]'', ''[[Grant (surname)|Grant]]'', ''[[Cameron (surname)|Cameron]]'', ''[[Stewart (name)|Stewart]]'', ''[[Douglas (surname)|Douglas]]'', ''[[Crawford (name)|Crawford]]'', ''[[Campbell (surname)|Campbell]]'', ''[[Hunter (name)|Hunter]]'') with "Mac" [[Goidelic languages|Gaelic]] for son.<ref>Katherine M. Spadaro, Katie Graham (2001) ''Colloquial Scottish Gaelic: the complete course for beginners'' p.16. Routledge, 2001</ref>

===Cognominal surnames===<!-- [[Cognominal surname]], [[Eke-name]], and [[Nickname surname]] redirects here -->
This is the broadest class of surnames, originating from nicknames,<ref name=bede>[[Bernard Deacon (linguist)|Bernard Deacon]], [https://bernarddeacon.com/cornish-surnames/classifying-surnames/ Classifying surnames] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604025727/https://bernarddeacon.com/cornish-surnames/classifying-surnames/ |date=4 June 2024 }}</ref> encompassing many types of origin. These include names based on appearance such as "Schwartzkopf", "Short", and possibly "Caesar",<ref name="hanks" /> and names based on temperament and personality such as "Daft", "Gutman", and "Maiden", which, according to a number of sources, was an English nickname meaning "effeminate".<ref name="hanks" /><ref name="cottle" /> 

A group of nicknames look like occupational ones: [[King (surname)|King]], [[Bishop (surname)|Bishop]], [[Abbot (surname)|Abbot]], [[Sheriff (surname)|Sheriff]], [[Knight (surname)|Knight]], etc. but it is rather unlikely that a person with surname King was a king or descended from a king. [[Bernard Deacon (linguist)|Bernard Deacon]] suggests that the first nickname/surname bearer may have acted like a king or bishop, or was as corpulent as a bishop. etc.<ref name=bede/>

A considerable group of surname-producing nicknames may be found among [[ethnonymic surname]]s.<ref>Butkus, Alvydas, [https://www.proquest.com/openview/a9586f90d1ab73304fadfa2e0227c0d9/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1818029 The Lithuanian Nicknames of Ethnonymic Origin], Indogermanische Forschungen; Strassburg Vol. 100, (1 January 1995): 223.</ref><ref>Tamás Farkas, [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315457178_Surnames_of_Ethnonymic_Origin_in_the_Hungarian_Language Surnames of Ethnonymic Origin in the Hungarian Language], In: Name and Naming. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Onomastics. Onomastics in Contemporary Public Space. Baia Mare, 9–11 May 2013, pp.504–517</ref>

===Ornamental/artificial surnames===
{{anchor|Ornamental}}'''Ornamental surnames''' (also known as {{anchor|Artificial}}'''artificial surnames'''<ref>Johannes Czakai, ''Nochems neue Namen: Die Juden Galiziens und der Bukowina und die Einführung deutscher Vor- und Familiennamen 1772-1820'', footnote 78 at [https://books.google.com/books?id=lB8-EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA292 p 292], referring to Beider</ref><ref>[[Alexander Beider]], [https://www.academia.edu/95851463/Introductory_chapters_to_Beider_Alexander_2004_A_Dictionary_of_Jewish_Surnames_from_Galicia_Bergenfield_NJ_Avotaynu Introductory chapters to: Beider, Alexander. 2004. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia ], Section 2.3 "Artificial surnames", pp. 27–41</ref>) are not specific to any attribute (place, parentage, occupation, caste) of the first person to acquire the name. They were generally acquired later in history and generally when those without surnames needed them. In 1526, [[Frederick I of Denmark|King Frederik I of Denmark-Norway]] ordered that noble families must take up fixed surnames, and many of them took as their name some element of their coat of arms; for example, the [[Rosenkrantz (noble family)|Rosenkrantz]] ("rose wreath") family took their surname from a wreath of roses forming the torse of their arms,<ref>Hiort-Lorensen, H.R., and Thiset, A. (1910) ''Danmarks Adels Aarbog'', 27th ed. Copenhagen: Vilh. Trydes Boghandel, p. 371.</ref> and the [[Gyldenstierne (noble family)|Gyldenstierne]] ("golden star") family took theirs from a 7-pointed gold star on their shield.<ref>von Irgens-Bergh, G.O.A., and Bobe, L. (1926) ''Danmarks Adels Aarbog'', 43rd ed. Copenhagen: Vilh. Trydes Boghandel, p. 3.</ref> Subsequently, many middle-class Scandinavian families desired names similar to those of the nobles and adopted "ornamental" surnames as well.

Most other naming traditions refer to them as "acquired". They might be given to people newly immigrated, conquered, or converted, as well as those with unknown parentage, formerly enslaved, or from parentage without a surname tradition.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

Ornamental surnames are more common in communities that adopted (or were forced to adopt) surnames in the 18th and 19th centuries.<ref name="bowman" /> They occur commonly in Scandinavia, and among [[Sinti and Roma]] and Eastern  [[Ashkenazi]] Jews in Germany and Austria.<ref name="hanks" />

===Acquired/assigned surnames===
During the era of the [[Trans-Atlantic slave trade]] many Africans were given new names by their masters. Many of the family names of many African-Americans have their origins in slavery (''i.e.'' [[slave name]]). Some freed slaves later created family names themselves.<ref name="x915">{{cite web|last=Craven|first=Julia|title=Many African American last names hold weight of Black history|website=NBC News|date=24 February 2022|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/many-african-american-last-names-hold-weight-black-history-rcna17267|access-date=2024-06-02|archive-date=23 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523215031/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/many-african-american-last-names-hold-weight-black-history-rcna17267|url-status=live}}</ref>

Another category of acquired names is [[Child abandonment|foundlings]]' names. Historically, children born to unwed parents or extremely poor parents would be abandoned in a public place or anonymously placed in a [[Baby hatch#History|foundling wheel]]. Such abandoned children might be claimed and named by religious figures, the community leaders, or adoptive parents. Some such children were given surnames that reflected their condition, like (Italian) [[Esposito]], [[Innocenti (surname)|Innocenti]], [[Casagrande|Della Casagrande]], [[Trovato]], Abbandonata, or (Dutch) Vondeling, Verlaeten, Bijstand. Other children were named for the street/place they were found (Union, Liquorpond (street), di Palermo, Baan, Bijdam, van den Eyngel (shop name), [[van der Stoep (surname)|van der Stoep]], von Trapp), the date they were found ([[Monday (surname)|Monday]], Septembre, Spring, di Gennaio), or festival/feast day they found or christened (Easter, SanJosé). Some foundlings were given the name of whoever found them.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Finding Foundlings: Searching for Abandoned Children in Italy|url=https://www.legacytree.com/blog/finding-foundlings-italy|access-date=27 July 2021|website=Legacy Tree Genealogists|date=14 September 2017|archive-date=27 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727061540/https://www.legacytree.com/blog/finding-foundlings-italy|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=England Regional, Ethnic, Foundling Surnames (National Institute)|url=https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/England_Regional,_Ethnic,_Foundling_Surnames_(National_Institute)|access-date=27 July 2021|website=FamilySearch Research Wiki|date=4 September 2014|archive-date=27 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727044744/https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/England_Regional,_Ethnic,_Foundling_Surnames_(National_Institute)|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Deciphering Dutch Foundling Surnames|url=https://www.dutchancestrycoach.com/Deciphering%20Dutch%20Foundling%20Surnames|access-date=27 July 2021|website=Dutch Ancestry Coach|archive-date=27 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727044755/https://www.dutchancestrycoach.com/Deciphering%20Dutch%20Foundling%20Surnames|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

===Occupational surnames {{anchor|Occupational}}=== <!-- [[Technonym]], [[Occupational name]] and [[Occupational surname]] redirect here -->
{{Category see also|Occupational surnames}}
[[Vocation|Occupational]] names include ''[[Smith (surname)|Smith]]'', ''[[Miller (name)|Miller]]'', ''[[Farmer (surname)|Farmer]]'', ''[[Thatcher (disambiguation)#Surname|Thatcher]]'', ''[[Shepherd (surname)|Shepherd]]'', ''[[Potter (surname)|Potter]]'', and so on, and analogous names in many other languages; see, for example, [[template:Smith-surname|various surnames associated with the occupation of smith]]. There are also more complicated names based on occupational titles. In England it was common for servants to take a modified version of their employer's occupation or first name as their last name,{{cn|date=July 2018}} adding the letter ''s'' to the word, although this formation could also be a [[patronymic]]. For instance, the surname ''[[Vickers (surname)|Vickers]]'' is thought to have arisen as an occupational name adopted by the servant of a vicar,<ref name="reaney">Reaney, P.H., and Wilson, R.M. ''A Dictionary of English Surnames.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. Rev. 3rd ed. {{ISBN|0-19-860092-5}}.</ref> while ''[[Roberts (surname)|Roberts]]'' could have been adopted by either the son or the servant of a man named Robert. A subset of occupational names in English are names thought to be derived from the medieval [[Mystery play#English mystery plays|mystery plays]]. The participants would often play the same roles for life, passing the part down to their oldest sons. Names derived from this may include ''[[King (surname)|King]]'', ''[[Lord (surname)|Lord]]'' and ''Virgin''.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} ''A Dictionary of English Surnames'' says that "surnames of office, such as [[Abbot (surname)|Abbot]], [[Bishop (surname)|Bishop]], [[Cardinal (surname)|Cardinal]] and King, are often nicknames".<ref name="reaney"/> The original meaning of names based on medieval occupations may no longer be obvious in modern English.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

===Toponymic surnames===<!-- [[Habitation name]], [[Habitational name]], [[Habitative name]], and [[Location name]] redirects here -->
{{Main|Toponymic surname}}
Location (toponymic, habitation) names derive from the inhabited location associated with the person given that name. Such locations can be any type of settlement, such as homesteads, farms, enclosures, villages, hamlets, strongholds, or cottages. One element of a habitation name may describe the type of settlement. Examples of [[Old English]] elements are frequently found in the second element of habitational names. The habitative elements in such names can differ in meaning, according to different periods, different locations, or with being used with certain other elements. For example, the Old English element ''tūn'' may have originally meant "enclosure" in one name, but can have meant "farmstead", "village", "manor", or "estate" in other names.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moss |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i7jpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT42 |title=A History of English Place Names and Where They Came From |date=2020-05-30 |publisher=Pen and Sword History |isbn=978-1-5267-2285-0 |language=en}}</ref>

Location names, or habitation names, may be as generic as "Monte" (Portuguese for "mountain"), "Górski" (Polish for "hill"), or "Pitt" (variant of "pit"), but may also refer to specific locations. "Washington", for instance, is thought to mean "the homestead of the family of Wassa",<ref name="cottle">Cottle, Basil. ''Penguin Dictionary of Surnames''. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. No ISBN.</ref> while "Lucci" means "resident of [[Lucca]]".<ref name="hanks" /> Although some surnames, such as "London", "Lisboa", or "Białystok" are derived from large cities, more people reflect the names of smaller communities, as in [[Ó Creachmhaoil]], derived from a village in [[County Galway]]. This is thought to be due to the tendency in Europe during the Middle Ages for migration to chiefly be from smaller communities to the cities and the need for new arrivals to choose a defining surname.<ref name="cottle" /><ref name="bowman">Bowman, William Dodgson. ''The Story of Surnames''. London, George Routledge & Sons, Ltd., 1932. No ISBN.</ref>

In [[Portuguese-speaking countries]], it is uncommon, but not unprecedented, to find surnames derived from names of countries, such as Portugal, França, Brasil, Holanda. Surnames derived from country names are also found in English, such as "England", "Wales", "Spain".

Some [[Japanese name|Japanese surnames]] derive from geographical features; for example, [[Ishikawa (surname)|Ishikawa]] (石川) means "stone river" (and is also [[Ishikawa Prefecture|the name of one of Japan's prefectures]]), [[Yamamoto]] (山本) means "the base of the mountain", and [[Inoue]] (井上) means "above the well".

Arabic names sometimes contain surnames that denote the city of origin. For example, in cases of [[Saddam Hussein]] al Tikriti,<ref name="saddam">{{Cite news|date=15 January 2007|title=Saddam Hussein's top aides hanged|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6261965.stm|access-date=17 October 2011|archive-date=2 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302020820/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6261965.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> meaning Saddam Hussein originated from [[Tikrit]], a city in [[Iraq]]. This component of the name is called a ''[[Nisbat (onomastics)|nisbah]]''.

====Examples====
* '''Estate names''' For those descended from land-owners, the name of their holdings, castle, manor or estate, e.g. [[Ernle]], [[House of Windsor|Windsor]], [[Staunton (surname)|Staunton]]
* '''Habitation (place) names''' e.g., [[Burton (name)|Burton]], [[Flint (surname)|Flint]], [[Hamilton (surname and title)|Hamilton]], [[London (name)|London]], [[Laughton (surname)|Laughton]], [[Leighton (surname)|Leighton]], [[Murray (surname)|Murray]], [[Sutton (surname)|Sutton]], [[Tremblay (surname)|Tremblay]]
* '''[[Topographic surname]]s''' (geographical features) e.g., [[Bridge (surname)|Bridge]] or [[Bridges (surname)|Bridges]], [[Brook (surname)|Brook]] or [[Brooks (surname)|Brooks]], [[Bush (surname)|Bush]], [[Camp (surname)|Camp]], [[Hill (surname)|Hill]], [[Lake (surname)|Lake]], [[Lee (English name)|Lee]] or [[Leigh (surname)|Leigh]], [[Wood (surname)|Wood]], [[Grove (surname)|Grove]], [[Holmes (surname)|Holmes]], [[Forest (name)|Forest]], [[Underwood (surname)|Underwood]], [[Hall (surname)|Hall]], [[Field (surname)|Field]], [[Stone (surname)|Stone]], [[Morley (name)|Morley]], [[Moore (surname)|Moore]], [[Perry (surname)|Perry]]

===Other===
The meanings of some names are unknown or unclear. The most common European name in this category may be the Irish name [[Ryan (surname)|Ryan]], which means 'little king' in Irish.<ref name="cottle" /><ref name="reaney" /> Also, Celtic origin of the name Arthur, meaning '[[Artur|bear]]'. Other surnames may have arisen from more than one source: the name [[DeLuca|De Luca]], for instance, likely arose either in or near Lucania or in the family of someone named Lucas or Lucius;<ref name="hanks" /> in some instances, however, the name may have arisen from Lucca, with the spelling and pronunciation changing over time and with emigration.<ref name="hanks" /> The same name may appear in different cultures by coincidence or romanization; the surname [[Lee (English name)|Lee]] is used in English culture, but is also a romanization of the Chinese surname ''[[Li (surname 李)|Li]]''.<ref name="reaney" /> In the [[Russian Empire]], illegitimate children were sometimes [[Russian surnames of illegitimate children|given artificial surnames]] rather than the surnames of their adoptive parents.<ref>[[Boris Unbegaun]], ''Russian surnames'', — Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972; Russian version: ''Русские фамилии'', 1989, [https://archive.org/details/russiansurnames/page/n181/mode/2up Chapter IX: "Artificial surnames"]</ref><ref>[http://gramma.ru/SPR/?id=2.5 НЕСТАНДАРТНЫЕ РУССКИЕ ФАМИЛИИ], citing Суслова А.В., Суперанская А.В., ''О русских именах'', Л.: Лениздат, 1991</ref>