Many thanks to the various readers who have requested information on surnames. Only four of the 18 requests received were not included in The Surnames of Cornwall. These four have now been covered in the last two surname blogs here and here. The other requests have not been forgotten. I will place a previously unpublished … Continue reading Maps for the surnames Guy and Ivey
Category: surnames
Two surnames in Cornwall: a study in contrasts
The next two requests for information on the history of surnames in Cornwall bring together a starkly contrasting pair. One is fairly common; the other relatively rare. One was present early in east Cornwall before dispersing more widely; the other arrived late and remained mainly restricted to a small district. One has its origin in … Continue reading Two surnames in Cornwall: a study in contrasts
Two surnames; two questions
Fanfare in order. This is the first of my on-demand surname blogs, where I respond to requests for information on surnames in Cornwall that do not appear in my The Surnames of Cornwall or in any previous blog. If you’re interested in any such surname let me know and I’ll see what I can find … Continue reading Two surnames; two questions
From rarer Cornish surnames to surnames on demand
The origin of Whitehair would seem to be obvious – a nickname for someone with white or grey hair. Not so. According to the guru of English surnames, P.H.Reaney, this is a version of the original Whityer, an occupational name for a white leather dresser. His theory would appear to be backed up by the … Continue reading From rarer Cornish surnames to surnames on demand
Rarer Cornish surnames continued
To explain the origin of the following three surnames we have to negotiate various spelling changes over the centuries. In the 1500s we find no-one called Weary until Richard Weary was baptised at St Pinnock, near Liskeard, in 1598. On the other hand, there were many Werrys. As the surname Weary appeared in broadly the … Continue reading Rarer Cornish surnames continued
Two unexpected Cornish surnames and a relic of the old language
Sometimes surnames prove to be more common in Cornwall than elsewhere, even though they look to be anything but Cornish. Waddleton is one. This was probably a local spelling for the surname Waddington, named after a number of places in northern England and in Surrey. The first Waddleton appears in 1744 in the Antony marriage … Continue reading Two unexpected Cornish surnames and a relic of the old language
Tre- surnames: an overview
There are around 1,300 places in Cornwall whose names contain the element tre, meaning a farmstead, hamlet or more generally a settlement. It is no surprise therefore, to find many surnames derived from those placenames. In 1861 there were around 125 separate Tre- surnames, amounting to 2.9% of the Cornish population. Over the centuries no … Continue reading Tre- surnames: an overview
Three Cornish surname puzzles
The following three surnames are all a little puzzling. Trevan looks like a classic trev- name, but it isn’t. There’s a place called Trevan at Probus. However, this was originally Tolvan (from tal and ban, meaning brow of a hill). That placename also occurred at Constantine, Illogan and St Hilary in west Cornwall. In those … Continue reading Three Cornish surname puzzles
When surnames mutate – why spelling matters
Often, the surnames we have nowadays can differ from their ancestors of half a millennium ago. In the case of the three below the difference is subtle but nevertheless significant in identifying their origin. There is a place called Trengrove in Menheniot, near Liskeard. But this was not the origin of the surname Trengrove. The … Continue reading When surnames mutate – why spelling matters
By Tre, Pol and Pen. But mainly Tre
My series of notes on the rarer Cornish surnames has reached the Tre- names and these will occupy the next few weeks. It’s not the number of families with a Tre- name that is so impressive - Willamses, Thomases and Richardses far outnumber them. It’s the frequency and variety of Tre- names themselves. Tre- is … Continue reading By Tre, Pol and Pen. But mainly Tre
Cornish studies resources 