ORIGINS OF LAST NAMES

We take having a last name for granted, but last names, or family names, did not exist until after 1600. They started developing during that century and only gradually became the standard.

These were NOT last names –

Christopher Columbus – really Cristobel de Colombo –the “de” means “from” Colombo

Leonardo da Vinci – really Leonardo from Vinci (the province of Vinci)

Jesus Christ -- Jesus did not have a last name. Christ is a title that means messiah.

King Henry VIII – When needed, his family line was specified by saying “of the house of Tudor” (same with all the kings)

Last names developed gradually from designating people according to:

1. place (like in Columbus)

Glenn, brook, Marsh, Chappel, Glade

Forrest, Smallwood, Fields

2. occupation

Tanner, Smith, Miller, Hammer, Cooper, Bowman, Butcher

3. “Son of” or “descendant of”

Johnson,Thompson mean “John’s son” or “Thom’s son.” Same for Jackson, Jones, etc.

“Ben” also means “son of” in Hebrew. Thus, Ben Laden literally means “son of Laden” (as in Osama Ben Laden), Ben Gurion (son of Gurion), Benjamin (son of Jamin).

Mac and Mc also mean “son of” as in McDonald which means “son of Donald.”

O’ = Irish shortening of the word “of,” so O’Malley means “of Malley” or son of Malley.

4. Other characteristics: hair color, physical handicaps, any distinguishing marks

Campbell – Scottish tribe, Gaelic for “crooked mouth

Roth – roth was old high German for “red” – prob. red hair

-Ó Ruaidh: Irish, means "descendant of Red", ruadh is from the Gaelic meaning "red"

(obviously, having red hair was big deal and most languages had a designation for red haired people which turned into some kind of modern day last name)

Go to this site and look over the list of occupations during the Middle Ages. You will see a plethora of modern-day last names in this list of medieval occupations!
http://www.castles-of-britain.com/castle32.htm

Last names often have family legends attached to them. My mother's maiden name was Napier. We know that the Napier Clan is Scottish and has it's own Scottish tartan, but there was also a story my grandmother would repeat on occasion that the King of Scotland, at some unspecified point in history, dubbed our ancestor a knight and said "Thou has na pier in Scotland," meaning Thou hast no peer , that is, no one is equal to you. But when I did a search on the origins of the name Napier, I found that it comes from the occupation of the napier, the person who kept the linens (napkins) and such clean and in order in a rich household or castle. Alas, I am descended from a servant! And probably from some horse thieves, too, as are we all.

Research idea:

Find out the meaning of your last name. Also, look up the last names of your mother before she married (her maiden name), and your grandmother's maiden names. You may be surprised by your own lineage and from what or where the names are derived.