Origins of British surnames

Surnames in England came in the use after the Norman conquest in 1066. As the country's population grew, people found it necessary to be more specific when they were talking about somebody else.  Thus arose descriptions like John the Butcher, Henry son of Richard, Thomas the Whitehead, Mary the Cook and Sarah from Gloucester, that, ultimately, led to many current English surnames.The introduction of parish registers in 1538 contributed significantly to the stabilization of the surname system, but it was not until the late 17th century that fixed surnames were introduced throughout England.

In England today there is around 45,000 different surnames, but most had their origins as one of these seven types.

Occupational

Many people have got their surnames based on their job, trade or position in society. Calling a man 'Henry Fiddler' indicated that he played a fiddle for a living, while someone named Chapman was a shopkeeper. Other occupational names include Archer, Baker, Brewer, Butcher, Carter, Clark, Cooper, Cook, Dyer, Farmer, Faulkner, Fisher, Fletcher (arrow maker), Fuller, Gardener, Glover, Hornblower, Hunter, Judge, Mason, Milner, Page, Parker, Potter, Sawyer, Slater, Smith, Taylor, Thatcher, Turner, Weaver, Woodman and Wright, as well as many more. Some surnames may come in variations such as Cartwright, Arkwright or Wainwright.

In the medieval England, before the time of professional theatre, craft guilds put on 'miracle plays', which told Bible stories and had a call-and-response style of singing. A participant's surname - such as King, Lord, Virgin or Death - may have reflected his or her role, which some people played for life and passed down to their eldest son. In this group also we can put surnames such as Pope, Bishop, Monk and Abbott, but they also may derived from ancestors who were clergymen.

Describing a personal characteristics

Some names, often adjectives, were based on nicknames that described a person. They may have described a person's size (Small, Long, Little), colouring (Black, White, Green, Red, which may have evolved into Reed, or Lloyd, from Welsh word for grey), or another character trait (Armstrong, Wise, Strong, Goodchild or Young). Someone named Puttock might have been considered greedy.

Names derived from English places

These are names derived from the location of the homestead from which the first bearer and his family lived, and are generally the most common origin of English surnames. It might be from the name of the house, farm, hamlet, village, town or county. Some of the examples are: Bedford, Burton, Carlisle, Hamilton, Hampshire, Lancaster, Oxford, Sutton.

Foreign places give the English surnames such as French, Beamish (Bohemian), Britten, Fleming, Hannay (Hainault), Janeway (Genoese), Lubbock (Lubeck).

Names derived from the name of the estate

Those descended from landowners may have taken as their surname the name of their holdings, castle, manor or estate, such as Ernle or Staunton. Windsor is the famous example. Some time prior to her death, Queen Victoria had her family lineage traced out of curiosity. In those days members of the Royal family did not have a surname and were known predominately as members of their dynastic House. Queen Victoria explored her family history to find out what her surname would be. This was later repeated by George V in his pursuit of a family surname.

It transpired that the family's surname would probably have been either 'Wettin' or 'Wipper'. Those were considered inappropriate for two reasons. First, They are obviously very embarrassing surnames and would make the family the butt of jokes in High society and in Britain as a whole. Second, They were also German and therefore still inappropriate surnames.

Therefore the Royal family went about simply changing their name to something more appropriate and English-sounding with no real significance to their family background. They eventually settled on the House of Windsor and the name derived from the name of their family castle.

Names derived from a geographical feature of the landscape

Some examples are Bridge, Brooks, Bush, Camp, Fields,Forest, Greenwood, Grove, Hill, Knolles, Lake, Moore, Perry, Stone, Wold, Wood and Woodroof. Author Margaret Atwood is probably descended from someone who lived 'at the wood'.

Patronymic, matronymic or ancestral

Patronymic surnames (those that come from a male given name) include Adams, Benson, Davis, Dawson, Evans, Harris, Harrison, Jackson, Jones, Nicholson, Richardson, Robinson, Rogers, Simpson, Stephenson, Thompson, Watson or Wilson.

It was traditional during the Middle Ages for children whose fathers died before their births to use a matronym, and it was not unheard of for children to be given a matronym if the father's name was foreign, difficult to pronounce, or had an unfortunate meaning. Matronymic ones, surnames derived from a female given name, include Molson (from Moll, for Mary), Madison (from Maud), Emmott (from Emma), Marriott (from Mary), Babbs or Hilliard. Surnames such as Mallinson and Tillotson - both came from female name Matilda.

Scottish clan names make up one set of ancestral surnames. These include Armstrong, Cameron, Campbell, Crawford, Douglas, Forbes, Grant, Henderson, Hunter, MacDonald and Stewart.

Surnames signifying patronage

Some surnames honoured a patron, Hickman was Hick's man (Hick being a nickname for Richard). Kilpatrick was a follower of Patrick.