As we have seen, some medieval first names were prone to give rise to a large variety of variants. Sometimes, this occurred through the addition of suffixes, such as -kin or -cock. Often, an <s> would make its appearance at the end of the name. At other times it resulted from the varied spellings adopted … Continue reading 14. Symons/Semmens
Tag: Symons
North Tamerton: farmers and a pharmacist
Another day, another north Cornish border parish. To the north of North Petherwin, North Tamerton was also a farming parish. Indeed, all four of the Victorian Lives sample who were children there in 1861 were sons and daughters of farmers. Again, none of the four moved far. Philip Symons is a good example. Philip’s father, … Continue reading North Tamerton: farmers and a pharmacist
Camborne’s overseas connections
At least one child in six in Camborne on our database spent some time overseas. This is likely to be an under-estimate. In nineteenth century Cornish mining parishes, at least a quarter of men, possibly as many as a third, would have spent some time overseas. For women that proportion might be around 15 per … Continue reading Camborne’s overseas connections
Maps for the surnames Morshead and Symons
You can find maps of these in 1861 for comparison here. Symons is the main spelling form of all those surnames that derive from the original Symon. This was a popular biblical name in the middle ages. The Symons group of spellings in Cornwall accounted for 62% of Symons/Simmons/Semmens in the 1950s, a proportion unchanged … Continue reading Maps for the surnames Morshead and Symons
Cornish studies resources 