Below you can find a list of the surnames ranked from 81st to 100 in terms of numbers of households in Cornwall in 1861. While most of those in the list still have their origin in first names (patronyms), a number of names from places (toponyms) and occupations are beginning to make an appearance. Pengelly … Continue reading Cornwall’s top 100 surnames – the final 20
Category: surnames
Cornish cultural conservatism and surname formation
Some surnames formed from within the Cornish-speaking community and ending in -ow had a tendency for this suffix to shift from a written -ow to -a. For example, Higow was found also as Hicka, Mathow as Matta and Clemo sometimes became Clyma. How far the pronunciation of this unstressed syllable changed is another matter. The … Continue reading Cornish cultural conservatism and surname formation
Cornish cultural distinctiveness: surnames with an -ow suffix
In the 1800s some surnames found in Cornwall helped to reinforce the myth of a Mediterranean origin for the Cornish, as multiple examples of names ending in -o, -oe or -ow seemed to hint strongly at Spanish antecedents. This was a romantic assumption with appeal to visitors and natives alike and was reinforced by other … Continue reading Cornish cultural distinctiveness: surnames with an -ow suffix
Tailors and bilingualism in 16th century Cornwall
The 80th most common surname in Victorian Cornwall was Taylor, an ubiquitous name found across southern Britain. This was already the case in Cornwall in the early 1500s when it appeared from the far east along the Tamar to West Penwith. But in Cornwall Taylor had a competitor. In the Cornish language the word for … Continue reading Tailors and bilingualism in 16th century Cornwall
Close cousins: Warren and Warne
According to most surname dictionaries Warren and Warne have different origins. Warne was traditionally supposed to be a name derived from places in Devon and Somerset; Warren from a place in northern France or from the first name Warin or Werin. Even the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names retains the distinction, although suggesting that Warne … Continue reading Close cousins: Warren and Warne
Curnow/Kernow. When the obvious meaning may not be so.
Check out the surname dictionaries, even the mammoth Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, and you'll find Curnow classed as a locative name, a form of Kernow, the Cornish for Cornwall and a surname presumably given to a Cornishman. But this simple and apparently clearcut explanation may not be the right one. … Continue reading Curnow/Kernow. When the obvious meaning may not be so.
Even nicknames start somewhere
If you're attempting to use past distributions of surnames to pinpoint their origin, names from places (for example Trevithick or Penrose) clearly hold out the best chance of success. Nevertheless, sometimes the early pattern of nicknames or even surnames from first names can provide clues as to where that surname may have first arisen in … Continue reading Even nicknames start somewhere
Cornwall’s 50 commonest surnames
Another ten surnames will take us to 50, actually 51 as there is a tie for 50th place. The list is still dominated by surnames derived from given or first names. This is similar to Wales and a symptom of the relatively late adoption of surnames in mid and west Cornwall when compared with England … Continue reading Cornwall’s 50 commonest surnames
Ten more surnames
The ten surnames below ranked 31st to 40th in the list of the most common surnames in Cornwall in 1861, just before the peak of emigration (and a century before mass immigration began). We're now beginning to meet more variation in the type of surname we're encountering, with the first occupational names and nicknames making … Continue reading Ten more surnames
Cornwall’s top surnames: the list continues
We’ve seen a list of the 20 or so commonest surnames in the nineteenth century. But what about the others? Over the next few months when I have time I’ll post the top 200 names (combining spelling variants as far as possible) in batches of ten, with their supposed type and the number of households … Continue reading Cornwall’s top surnames: the list continues
Cornish studies resources 