Many other words connected with the delimitation of property occur
commonly in surnames. Croft or Craft, a small field, is common in
compounds such as Beecroft or Bearcroft (barley), Haycraft (see hay,
below), Oscroft(ox), Rycroft, Meadowcroft. [Footnote: I remember
reading in some story of a socially ambitious lady who adopted this
commonplace name instead of Gubbins. The latter name came over, as
Gobin, with the Conqueror, and goes back to Old Ger. Godberaht, whence
Old Fr. Godibert.] Fold occurs usually as Foulds, but we have
compounds such as Nettlefold, Penfold or Pinfold (Chapter XIII). Sty,
not originally limited to pigs, has given Hardisty, the sty of
Heardwulf. Frith, a park or game preserve, is probably more often the
origin of a surname than the other frith (Chapter XII). It is cognate
with Ger. Friedhof, cemetery. Chase is still used of a park and Game
once meant rabbit-warren. Warren is Fr. garenne. Garth, the
Scandinavian doublet of Yard, and cognate with Garden, has given the
compounds Garside, Garfield, Hogarth (from a place in Westmorland),
and Applegarth, of which Applegate is a corruption. We have a
compound of yard in Wynyard, Anglo-Sax. win, vine. We have also the
name Close and its derivative Clowser. Gate, a barrier or opening,
Anglo-Sax. geat, is distinct from the Scandinavian gate, a street
(Chapter XIII), though of course confused with it in surnames. From
the northern form we have Yates, Yeats, and Yeatman, and the compounds
Byatt, by gate, Hyatt, high gate. Agate is for atte gate, and
Lidgate, whence Lidgett, means a swing gate, shutting like a lid.
Fladgate is for flood-gate. Here also belongs Barr. Hatch, the gate
at the entrance to a chase, survives in Colney Hatch. The apparent
dim. Hatchett is for Hatchard (Chapter VIII); cf. Everett for Everard
(Chapter II). Hay, also Haig, Haigh, Haw, Hey, is cognate with Hedge.
Like most monosyllabic local surnames, it is commonly found in the
plural, Hayes, Hawes. The bird nickname Hedgecock exists also as
Haycock. The curious-looking patronymics Townson and Orchardson are
of course corrupt. The former is for Tomlinson and the latter perhaps
from Achard (Chapter VIII).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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