LOCAL NAMES
Surnames derived from place of residence often contain a preposition, e.g., Atwood, Underhill, and sometimes the article as well, e.g., Atterbury, Bythesea. In Surtees, on the Tees, we have a French preposition and an English river name. Sometimes they preserve a word otherwise obsolete. Barton, a farmyard, originally a barley-field, has given its name to about thirty places in England, and thus, directly or indirectly, to many families. Bristow preserves what was once the regular pronunciation of Bristol. The famous north country name Peel means castle, as still in the Isle of Man. It is Old Fr. pel (pal), stake, and the name was originally given to a wooden hill-fort or stockade.
Many places which have given family names have themselves disappeared from the map, while others, now of great importance, are of too recent growth to have been used in this way. Many of our family names are taken from those of continental towns, especially French and Flemish. Camden says, "Neither is there any village in Normandy that gave not denomination to some family in England." Such are Bullen or Boleyn (Boulogne), Cullen (Cologne), Challis (Calais), Challen (Châlon), Chaworth (Cahors), Bridges[127] (Bruges), Druce (Dreux), Gaunt (Gand, Ghent), Lubbock (Lübeck), Luck (Luick, Liège), Mann (le Mans), Malins (Malines, Mechlin), Nugent (Nogent), Hawtrey (Hauterive), and Dampier (Dampierre). To decide which is the particular Hauterive or Dampierre in question is the work of the genealogist. Dampierre (Dominus Petrus) means Saint Peter. In some cases these names have been simplified, e.g., Camden notes that Conyers, from Coigniers, lit. quince-trees, becomes Quince.
French provinces have given us Burgoyne, Champain. Gascoyne or Gaskin, and Mayne, and adjectives formed from names of countries, provinces and towns survive in Allman (Allemand), Brabazon (le Brabançon, the Brabanter), Brett (le Bret or le Breton[128]), Pickard (le Picard), Poidevin[129] (le Poitevin), Mansell, Old Fr. Mancel (le Manceau, inhabitant of Maine or le Mans), Hanway and Hannay (le Hannuyer, the Hainaulter), Loring (le Lorrain), assimilated to Fleming, Champneys (le Champenois), with which we may compare Cornwallis, from the Old French adjective cornwaleis, man of Cornwall. To these may be added Pollock, which occasionally means the Pole, or Polack—
"Why then the Polack never will defend it."
(Hamlet, iv. 4.)
Janaway, the Genoese, and Haunce, from the famous Hanse confederation. Morris means sometimes Moorish (see p. [49]), and Norris, besides having the meaning seen in its contracted form nurse, Fr. nourrice, may stand for le Noreis, the Northerner. We still have a Norroy king-at-arms, lit. north king, who holds office north of the Trent.
In some cases the territorial de remains, e.g., Dolman is sometimes the same as Dalmain, d'Allemagne, Daubeney is d'Aubigné, Danvers is d'Anvers (Antwerp), Devereux is d'Évreux, a town which takes its name from the Eburovices, and Disney is d'Isigny. With these may be mentioned Dubberley, Fr. du Boulay, of the birch wood, and Dawnay, from Old Fr. aunai,[130] a grove of alders. The last governor of the Bastille was the Marquis de Launay (l'aunai). There is a large group of such words in French, coming from Latin collectives in -etum; d'Aubray is from Lat. arboretum, and has given also the dissimilated form Darblay, famous in English literature. Other examples are Chesney, Chaney, etc., the oak-grove,[131] Pomeroy, the apple-garden.
Names of French origin are particularly subject to corruption and folk-etymology. We have the classic example of Tess Durbeyfield.[132] Camden, in his Remains concerning Britain, gives, among other curious instances, Troublefield for Turberville. Greenfield is usually literal (cf. Whitfield, Whittaker, Greenacre, etc.), but occasionally for Grenville. Summerfield is for Somerville. The notorious Dangerfield was of Norman ancestry, from Angerville. Mullins looks a very English name, but it is from Fr. moulin, mill, as Musters is from Old Fr. moustier, monastery. Phillimore is a corruption of Finnemore, Fr. fin amour.
OCCUPATIVE NAMES