STRAND Family History Page
STRAND Family History PageSome abbreviations used; OE = Old English | OF = Old French | OHG = Old High German | ON = Old Norse | Gmc = Germanic | ME = Medieval |
Batt
1. English: like BATE, a deriv. of the ME given
name Batte, a pet form of BARTHOLOMEW. 2. English: possibly
from the ME survival of an OE personal name or byname Bata, of uncertain
origin and meaning, but perhaps akin to batt cudgel and so, as a
byname, given to a thickset man or a belligerent one. 3. English:
topographic name, of uncertain meaning. that it is a topographic name seems
clear from examples such as Walter atte Batte (Somerset 1327), but
the term in question is in doubt. A connection has been suggested with
OE bat boat, but this would normally give ME bote in S. England
and bate in N. England. The surname is most common in Sussex.
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Baud
- (Bo(u)lding)
French 1, from the Germanic personal name Baldo,
a short form of the various compound names with the first element bald
bold. 2, nickname for a lively person, from OF baud joyful,
abandoned (of Gmc origin - see 1 above - but with an altered sense).
Brassington
English: habitation name from a place in Derbyshire,
which Ekwall suggests is derived from OE Brantstigtun 'enclosure
(tun) by the steep (brant) path (stig)' Brandsigingtun
'settlement associated with *Brandsige' is more likely. Brandsige,
composed of the elements brand sword + sige victory, is not
attested as an OE personal name, but seems plausible. BACK
Brown
English: generally a nickname, ME brun, le
brun, from OE brun or OF brun (both of Gmc origin; cf.
OHG brun), referring to the colour of the hair, complexion, or clothing.
It may occasionally be from the personal name, OE Brun or ON Bruni,
with the same origin. Brun- was also a Gmc narne-forming element;
some instances of OE Brun may therefore be short forms of cpd names
such as Brungar, Brunwine, etc. The Ger. cogns. are associated
with the much more common Continental personal name
Bruno, which was borne by the Dukes of
Saxony, among others, from the 10th cent. or before. It was also
the name of several medieval German and Italian saints, including the founder
of the Carthusian order (1030-1101), who was born in Cologne.
Brown also occurs as an Anglicization
of some Jewish narnes, including compounds, and of names in other languages
meaning 'Brown'. BACK
Brent - (Brunt)
English: 1, topographic name for someone who
lived by a piece of ground that had been cleared by fire, from ME brent,
past part. of brennen to burn.
2. habitation name from one of the places in
Devon and Somerset so called from OE brant steep, or from an earlier
Celt. (Brit.) word meaning 'hill', 'high place'.
3. byname or nickname for a criminal who had
been branded; cf. Henry Brendcheke ('burned cheek'), recorded
in Northumberland in 1279.
Vars.: Brend, Brunt. (Of 1 only): Brind
(a place in Humberside). Cogn. (of 1): Ger.: BRAND.
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Beadle
- (Buddle)
English: occupational name for a medieval court
official, from ME bedele (OE bydel, reinforced by OF bedel).
The word is of Gmc origin, and akin to OE biodan to bid, command
and OHG bodo messenger (see BOTHA). In the Middle Ages a beadle
in England and France was a junior official of a court of justice, responsible
for acting as an usher in a court, carrying the mace in processions in
front of a justice, delivering official notices, making proclamations (as
a sort of town crier), and so on. By Shakespeare's day a beadle was
a sort of village constable, appointed by the parish to keep order.
Vars.: Beadel(l), Be(e)dle; Beddall,
Bed(d)ell; Biddle, Biddell; Buddle, Buddell.
Cogns.: Fr.: Bedel, Bede, Bedeau.
Ger.: Buttel; Bittel (Wurttemberg, Swabia). Flem.:
Pedel.
Patrs.: Eng.: Beadles, Biddles,
Buddles. BACK
Bulman
English: (chiefly Northumberland): occupational
name for the keeper of a bull, from ME bule BULL + man man.
Var.: Bullman. BACK
Burdon
English (chiefly W Country): 1. Norman, from
the OF personal name Burdo (oblique case Burdon), probably
of Gmc origin, but uncertain meaning. 2. nickname for a pilgrim or
one who carried a pilgrim's staff (ME, OF bourdon, of uncertain
origin, probably from LL burdo, gen. burdonis, mule, pack
animal, with later extension to mean 'support'). 3. habitation name
from places in W.Yorkshire & Co. Durham, so called from OE burh
fortress (see BURKE) + dun hill (see DOWN 1.). Another Burdon
in Co. Durham means 'valley with a byre', from byre byre + denu
valley. Var.: Burden. BACK
Cock
English: 1. nickname from the bird, ME cok,
OE cocc, given for a variety of possible reasons. Applied to a young
lad who strutted proudly like a cock, it soon became a generic term for
a youth and was attached with hypocoristic force to the short forms of
many ME given names (e.g. Alcock, Hancock, Hiscock, Mycock).
The nickname may also have referred to a natural leader, or an early riser,
or a lusty or aggressive individual. The surname may also occasionally
derive from the cock used as a house sign. 2. from the ME byname
le Cok, OE Cocca, derived from the word given in '1' above
or from the homonymous cocc, hillock, clump, lump, and so denoting
a fat and awkward man. This name is not independently attested, but
appears to lie behind a number of placenames and (probably) the ME given
name Cock, which was still in use in the late 13th century.
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Hatch
English: topographic name for someone who lived
by a date, OE hoecce (normally a gate marking the entrance to a
forest or other enclosed piece of land, sometimes a sluice-gate), or habitation
name from one of the many places named with this word.
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Knott
1. English: nickname for a lumpish, thickset
person, from OE cnotta knot, lump, swelling (another member of the
large group of Gmc words in a kn- with related
meanings). 2. topographic name for someone
who lived by a hillock or projecting rock, from ME knot hillock
(apparently from the same OE source as in '1' ).
3. English: from the ON personal name Knutr,
originally a byname cogn. with '1'. This given name became
popular in England in the reign of the Danish king Canute (1016-35),
and was still in regular use in the 13th century.
4. Jewish (Ashkenazic): Anglicisation of one or more like sounding Jewish
surnames. BACK