Cornish names with Devon roots

Two of the next three in my ‘rare Cornish surnames’ series have their roots east of the Tamar or straddle the border, while the third may possibly also fit that same category.

There is a small hamlet called Crowden near Northlew, a few miles north west of Okehampton. This name, spelt Growden, was already found in Cornwall in the 1500s – at St Neot – and in the 1600s moved into mid-Cornwall. Unless there is a lost placename in or near St Neot with this English name, probably meaning crow’s down or hill, it must indicate a migration from Crowden in Devon. Although the Growden family name settled down to the mid-Cornwall district, it was relatively dispersed.

The opposite was the case for Gubbin. This first appeared in the records as Gubbing, losing the -g by around 1600. It’s thought to be a form of Gibbon, itself from Gib, which was in turn a short form of Gilbert. While there were a few people called Gib, Gibb and Gibbs in east Cornwall in the sixteenth century there’s no convincing geographical relationship. The name Gubbin(g) was first recorded from the 1570s or thereabouts at North Tamerton, next to the border, suggesting a local cross-border spelling variant. It remained remarkably loyal to the parishes north of Launceston and was still found only there three hundred years later.

Finally, what about Henna? With its -a, this looks as if it should be name associated with the Cornish language community. But was it? It’s been proposed it came from Henn, a short form of Henry, or perhaps from Hann, from Johan (John). Or maybe it originated in the English word hen, a female version of the common surname Cock. Or was it from the Cornish word henna, meaning elder or senior? This last is unlikely as it didn’t crop up until the 1700s, usually spelt Hennah.

It was clearly linked to the parishes of Mevagissey and Gorran and a scatter of other nearby coastal locations. Its earlier absence suggests it wasn’t an example of the conservative custom of tacking an -a onto a personal name – as in Jacka. Nor did it stem from an earlier Henno, along the lines of Clemo/Clyma, as the name Henno isn’t found in early records. Given its coastal location, had it arrived in Cornwall by sea from somewhere further east? Was it perhaps a version of the name Anna? It may be significant that in 1861 there were as many Henna/hs in and around London as in Cornwall.