English Surnames: Their Sources and SignificationsBardsley, Charles Wareing Endell
History
English Surnames: Their Sources and Significations
Bardsley, Charles Wareing Endell
Names, English; Names, Personal -- English
(_b_) _Condition._—We have still traces in our midst of sobriquets
relating to the poverty or wealth of the original bearer. Our ‘Poores,’
often found as ‘Powers,’ are descended from the ‘Roger le Poveres,’ or
‘Robert le Poors,’ of the thirteenth century, while our ‘Riches’ are set
down at the same period as ‘Swanus le Riche’ or ‘Gervase le Riche.’ Of
several kindred surnames we may mention a ‘John le Nedyman,’ now
obsolete, and an ‘Elyas le Diveys,’ which, in the more Biblical form of
Dives, still exists in the metropolis. It is somewhat remarkable that we
should have the Jewish ‘Lazarus’ also, and that this too should have
arisen in not a few instances from the fact that its first possessor was
a leper. ‘Nicholas le Lepere’ and ‘Walter le Lepper’ speak for
themselves. With the above we may ally our early ‘Robert le Ragiddes’
and ‘Thomas le Raggedes,’ which remind us that our vagabonds, if not our
‘Raggs’ and ‘Raggetts,’ are of no modern extraction, but come of a very
old family indeed! ‘Half-naked,’ I unhesitatingly at first set down as
one of this class, but it is local.[443]
(_c_) _Age, Size, Shape, Capacity._—This class is very large, and
embraces every possible, and well-nigh impossible feature of human life.
A glance over our old records, and we can almost at once find ‘Lusty’
and ‘Strong,’ ‘Long’ and ‘Short,’ ‘Bigg’[444] and ‘Little,’ ‘High’ and
‘Lowe’ (both perchance local), ‘Large’ and ‘Small,’ ‘Thick’ and ‘Thin,’
‘Slight’ and ‘Round,’ ‘Lean’ and ‘Fatt,’ ‘Megre’ and ‘Stout,’[445]
‘Ould’ and ‘Young,’ and ‘Light’ and ‘Heavy.’ Was this not sufficient?
Were there several in the same community who could boast similarity in
respect to one or other of these varieties? Then we got ‘Stronger,’
‘Shorter,’ ‘Younger,’[446] ‘Littler,’ ‘Least,’[447] ‘Senior,’ ‘Junior,’
and in some cases ‘Elder.’ Some of these are of course Norman; but when
Saxon occur we can all but invariably find the Norman equivalent. Thus,
if ‘Large’ be Saxon, ‘Gros’ (now ‘Grose’ and ‘Gross’) is Norman; if
‘Bigge’ be Saxon, ‘Graunt’ or ‘Grant’ or ‘Grand’ is Norman;[448] if
‘Small’ be Saxon, ‘Pettitt’ or ‘Pettye’ or ‘Petty’ or ‘Peat’ is Norman.
Thus again, ‘Lowe’ meets face to face with ‘Bas’ or ‘Bass,’ ‘Short’ with
‘Curt,’ ‘Fatte’ with ‘Gras’ or ‘Grass’ or ‘Grace,’[449] ‘Strong’ with
‘Fort,’ ‘Ould’ with ‘Viele,’ ‘Twist’ with ‘Tort,’ and ‘Young’ or ‘Yonge’
with ‘Jeune.’ Sometimes the termination ‘_man_’ is added, as in
‘Strongman,’ ‘Longman,’ ‘Smallman,’ ‘Oldman,’ and ‘Youngman,’ or if a
woman, _dame_, as in such a case as ‘Matilda Lenedame,’ which as a
surname died probably with its owner. Sometimes, again, we have the
older and more antique form, as in ‘Smale’ and ‘Smaleman,’ that is,
small; ‘Yonge’ and ‘Yongeman,’ that is, young; and ‘Lyte’ and ‘Lyteman,’
that is, little; ‘Wight’ and ‘Wightman,’ now obsolete in our general
vocabulary, referred to personal strength and activity. In the ‘Vision
of Piers Plowman,’ one of the sons of ‘Sire Inwit’ is described as
being—
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