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
Tag: surnames
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
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
More Cornish surnames from placenames
The following three surnames all seem to have originated as the names of places. I say ‘seem’ as in the case of the first, it’s difficult to pin down the actual place involved. Tingcombe looks very much like a placename. There is a Tincombe nature reserve near Saltash and also a Tincombe House at Topsham … Continue reading More Cornish surnames from placenames
Cornish surname detection: three more lesser-found examples
The verb ‘to swig’ is now associated with drinking. This has been suggested as the origin of the surname Swiggs, which could either be a nickname or an occupational name for someone who made drinking vessels. But that’s all guesswork. What is less conjectural is its Cornish geography. The name, as Swigg, had emerged in … Continue reading Cornish surname detection: three more lesser-found examples
Three unexpected Cornish surnames
These three surnames don’t look Cornish. Yet two thirds of Spriddles and Stidefords in the UK in the 1800s were found in Cornwall, while one third of the Stenlakes/Stanlakes were also Cornish, with most of the rest in Devon. Spriddle is suggested to be a nickname, from the words for a spirit or for a … Continue reading Three unexpected Cornish surnames
More rare Cornish surnames
Skin is an occupational surname, short for Skinner. Its origin in Cornwall is unambiguous. Several men named Skin lived in the parishes around Saltash in 1544. Later, the surname cropped up further west, which may indicate migration or could just be independent examples of this variant. Nonetheless, south-east Cornwall remained the preferred home for this … Continue reading More rare Cornish surnames
Cornish surnames of the far west and the far east
One might be excused for assuming that the surname Sangwin must have a Cornish language derivation – gwin meaning white. However, its past geography quickly dispels such a notion. John Sangwin was found at Launcells, on the border with Devon, in 1525. The surname was recorded as early as the 1270s at Whimple in east … Continue reading Cornish surnames of the far west and the far east
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