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Slater This famous surname is medieval English, but of early French origins. Introduced by the Norman Invaders of 1066, it derives from the pre 8th century French word "esclate", meaning slate, with the addition of the Anglo-Saxon agent suffix "-er", meaning "one who works with". Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the occupation of the namebearer and became hereditary when a son or sometimes a grandson followed the fathers occupation. This is one of the earliest of all surnames, and early examples of the recordings include: Roger Sclatiere and Walter Sclatter, recorded respectively in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire and Berkshire in 1279, and that of Thomas Slater entered in the Subsidy Tax rolls of Yorkshire, in 1297. In the modern idiom the name has four spelling variations: Slator, Sclater, Slatter and Slater. Later examples include on January 29th 1542, George Slater and Jone Umfrey who were married at St. Margaret's, Westminster, London, whilst one of the earliest settlers in the New Colonies of America was John Slater, aged 22 years, who was recorded in an original muster of the Inhabitants of the colony of Virginia formed in 1607, in 1621. He had arrived there on the ship "George" in 1617, which was three years prior to the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers on the "Mayflower". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas le Sclatere. This was dated 1255, in the "Occupation register of Worcester", during the reign of King Henry 111rd of England, 1216 - 1272. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
: Burden This interesting surname has a number of possible sources. Firstly, the surname may be of Norman origin, introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066. It may derive from the Old French personal name "Burdo" (oblique case "Burdon"), probably of Germanic origin, but uncertain meaning. The surname may also be a nickname for a pilgrim or one who carried a pilgrim's staff, from the Old French "bourdon", pilgrim's staff. It has also been suggested that the surname derives from the Old German or Latin "burdo", a mule, and would have been an occupational name for a pack carrier, or indeed a nickname given to a strong person. The creation of surnames from nicknames was a common practice in the Middle Ages, and many modern-day surnames derive from medieval nicknames referring to personal characteristics, as in these instances, the "pilgrim" or "strong one". Finally, the surname may be of Anglo-Saxon origin, and a locational name from Great Burdon (Durham) or Burdon Head (West Riding of Yorkshire), which derive from the Olde English pre 7th Century "burh", fortress, with "dun", hill. Another Burdon in Durham means "valley with a byre", from "byre", byre, with "denu", valley. Ilger Burdun is noted in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire (1166), and Jeffery Burden, Wiltshire is listed in the Register of Oxford University (1597). A Coat of Arms granted to the family is a silver shield, with three red pilgrims' staves in fesse, pomelled gold. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Arnulf Burdin, which was dated 1115, in the "Book of Winton", during the reign of King Henry 1, known as "The Administrator", 1100 - 1135. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
Wren This unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is one of a large group of early English surnames created from nicknames, often from the names of birds and animals, after some supposed resemblance to their best-known characteristics, such as Lark, Nightingale, Jay, Hart, Lamb and so on. The nickname "Wren", derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century word "wrenna" or "wraenna", in Middle English "wrenne", was probably used of a small, busy and quick-moving person. The modern surname has two forms, Wren and Wrenn, the latter being the most usual spelling until the end of the 17th Century. Church recordings include one Rychard Wren who married Agnis Dalton on September 12th 1561 at St. Mary Abchurch, London, and Thomas Wren was christened on December 30th 1578 at St. John's, Hackney. The most notable namebearer is probably Sir Christopher Wren (1632 - 1723), the brilliant English architect who designed St. Paul's Cathedral and over fifty other London churches after the Great Fire of 1666, as well as many secular buildings. A Coat of Arms granted to a Wren family of County Durham depicts, on a white shield, on a black chevron between three lion's heads erased purple as many wrens of the field, on a chief, red, three crosses crosslet, gold. The Crest is a lion's head erased silver collared and pierced through the neck with a broken spear, red headed gold, vulned proper. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Wrenne, which was dated 1275, in the "Hundred Rolls of Norfolk", during the reign of King Edward 1st, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
Sanders This famous surname is international being recorded in some form in every European country. There are at least three potential origins. These are firstly a derivative of the Greek personal name Alexander, meaning "The defender", and which was first recorded in 2000 b.c. It was introduced into Britain by "Crusaders" and other pilgrims, from the Holy Land, in the 12th century a.d.. Secondly in Britain, it can be locational from the village of Sanderstead in the county of Surrey. This place was first recorded as "Sonderstede" in the famous Anglo-Saxon Chronicles of the year 871, meaning the house on the sandy land. The third option is from the pre 7th century word "sand", plus the Germanic suffix "er", and as such describing a person who worked with or supplied sand, used for building or agricultural. The various spellings of the surname include Sander, Saunder, and Sandar, whilst Saunders, Sanders, and Sandars are the patronymics. Early examples of the surname recording include William Sandre of the county of Kent, England, in 1316, and Richard Saunder of Stafford in the Subsidy Rolls of that county for the year 1332. Other examples include Sir Edward Saunders, Chief-baron of the exchequer to Queen Elizabeth 1st in 1559, whilst Francis Sanders, (1648 - 1710), a Jesuit priest, was confessor to the exiled King James 11 of England, at the palace of St. Germain in France. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Henry Sandres, which was dated 1275, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire". This was during the reign of King Edward 1st, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307.
: Dawson This interesting surname is of English origins. It has more than fifteen entries in the Dictionary of National Biography, and no less than twenty-two coats of arms, and is a patronymic form of the medieval male given name Daw. This is a nickname form of David, adopted from the Hebrew male given name Dodavehu meaning "beloved of Jehovah". This name was borne by the greatest of the early Kings of Israel, and led to its popularity, first among the Jews, and later among the Christians. In Britain the popularity of the name was increased by the fame of St. David, the patron saint of Wales, and by the fact that it was borne by two kings of Scotland, David 1st 1124 - 1153, and David 11nd 1329 - 1371. David clericus, of the county of Lincolnshire in 1150, is one of the earliest recorded bearers of the forename in England. The form as Dawe first appears in the county of Lancashire in 1212, with the patronymic Daweson emerging in the early 14th Century (see below). Richard Dawson, aged 31 yrs., who embarked from London on the ship "Phillip" bound for Virginia, in June 1635, was an early settler in America. The Dawsons have been prominent in Ireland from Elizabethan times; those who settled in Ulster became Earls of Cremorne and Dartrey. Another family acquired large estates in Col Laois, and a third gained possession of the Glen of Aherlow, in Co. Tipperary, hence, the appellation Dawson's Table in connection with the mountain, Galtee More. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Daweson, which was dated 1326, in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire, during the reign of King Edward 11nd, 1307 - 1327. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
Jones This famous surname, widespread throughout the British Isles, and the most popular surname in Wales, one in ten Welsh people being so-called, is nethertheless of English medieval origins. It derives either from the male given name John, or its female equivalent Joan, both Norman French introductions after the 1066 Invasion. Both names are written as Jon(e) in medieval documents, and a clear distinction between them on the grounds of gender was not made until the 15th Century. However, because western society has almost invariably had a male as family head throughout history, bearers of the surname Jones are more likely to derive it from a patronymic form of John, than a matronymic form of Joan. The personal name John, ultimately from the Hebrew "Yochanan" meaning "Jehovah has favoured (me with a son)", has always enjoyed enormous popularity in Europe, and particularly so after the famous Crusades of the 12th century. The name, which is found in some four hundred spellings, is in honour of St. John the Baptist, the precursor of Christ. The surname as "Jones", first appears on record in England in the latter part of the 13th Century, and also features as one of the most numerous settler names in Ireland, having been introduced in the wake of the Anglo- Norman Invasion of 1170. It is now found in every Irish county, especially in the larger towns, and has also been Gaelicized as "MacSeoin". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Matilda Jones, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire", during the reign of King Edward 1st, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", reigned 1272 - 1307.
Jarvis Recorded in over fifty surname spellings including: Jervis and Jarvis of England, Gervaise and Gervex (France), Gervas, Hervas, and Hervarth (Germany), Vason and Gervasoni (Italy), Fasin (Switzerland), and many more, this interesting surname is of pre 7th century Germanic origins. It derives from the personal name "Gervase", composed of the elements "geri," meaning a spear, and possibly "vaulx", a valley.The name as a personal name, was popular throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, because it was originally that of a Christian saint martyred by the Roman Emperor Domitian in the 3rd century a.d. A secondary developed source of the name in England is from the abbey and village of Jervaulx in the county of North Yorkshire. This is a Norman French 11th century form of the river name "Ure", and "vaulx", a valley. The surname is first recorded in England, which was the first country to adopt hereditary surnamesnational. This was John Geruas, a landowner of the county of Shropshire, who appears in the tax rolls of King John, in the year 1202. Other early recordings include: Thomas Geruais of Norfolk in 1230, Konrad Hervart of Augsberg in 1251, and Clewin Versene of Ensisheim in 1290, both Germany, Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.