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What's in a Name?

Home > Just for Kids > What's In a Name? > What Does Your Last Name Mean?

Is your surname in the list below? Even if it isnít, you can still try to figure out the meaning of your name if you can deduce the ìroot wordî in your name. To do this, look for the possible ìrootî word in your name, such as ìman,î ìfield,î ìwood,î or ìwater.î Are any of the names below similar to yours in their root?

While itís hard to know if exactly what a name means (sometimes there can be more than one meaning), itís fascinating to think that our names meant something to our ancestors, and can still to us today. Names based on a place especially, or names based on what a person did for work, can often give you clues to other similar names. See if your name (or one similar to yours) is in the list below:

Altman: old man Lloyd: gray-haired man
Anderson: son of Andrew Mason: stone mason or stone cutter
Ash: home by an ash tree Messerschmidt: sword or knife maker
Ashburn: ash tree brook Metzger: butcher
Atwood: home by the forest Miller: one who operates a mill (sawmill, grist or grain mill, etc.)
Badger: grain dealer Moody: brave and proud
Baldwin: bold friend Moseley: home by a marshy meadow
Bannister: basket maker Newton: newly planned farmstead
Barker: stripper of bark Norton: village to the north
Baum: tree Ogden: valley of oak trees
Baxter: village bread baker Perkins: young Peter
Davis: son of David Peterson: son of Peter
Fuller: shrinker of cloth Petty: short or small man
Gallup: small boat owner Redford: red-soil river crossing
Gamble: wise old man Reid: red-haired man
Goldsmith: gold craftsman Robertson: son of Robert
Gould: golden haired Schwerdtfeger: sword maker or cleaner
Hallowell: holy spring Smith: wood, stone or metal worker
Hardwick: cattle pasture Tanner: tanner of leather
Hardy: bold and daring Taylor: maker or sewer of clothes
Harper: harp player Thorpe: farming village
Heald: sloping land Thwaite: to carve
Hodgkins: son of young Rodger Tinker: traveling seller of pots and pans
Holt: small forest Todd: fox
Inman: Inn keeper Tyler: maker of roofing tiles
Johnson: son of John Udall: yew tree valley
Jones: sone of John Wagner: wagon maker or driver
Kaufman: merchant Weaver: cloth weaver
Kelly: hill or grove Wheeler: wheel or cart maker
Kerr: marshy land Williams: son of William
Kirk: house by the church Wilson: son of William
Lamont: man of the law Woodward: keeper of the forest
Livingston: stone fortress Wright: carpenter, wheel maker, or cart maker

Other ìrootî words having to do with location that you might find in your name are:

burn= brook or stream lin= lake
cole= water or river pen= hill
dale= valley shaw= forest
field= open cleared land stein= rock or stone
ley= wooded area ville= town

 

 
   

 

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