Bernard Deacon's Blog, page 4

6. Martin

The Latin name Martinus gave us Martin in medieval English and French. The popularity of this name was then boosted by the cult of the fourth century St Martin of Tours. In the 16th century the family name Martin was more evenly spread across Cornwall than many other surnames coined from personal names. Moreover, in … Continue reading 6. Martin →

7. Harris

The Old French first name Henri, from the Germanic Heinric, was introduced to the British Isles following 1066. This, together with its close relation, the Norman-French Hanri, became Middle English Henry. But in the cottages and communities of the common folk, this name usually became Harry. Harry, like other first names, was then appropriated as … Continue reading 7. Harris →

8. Mitchell/Michell

It’s back to the top 20 Cornish surnames. Michael was a first name drawn from the Hebrew language and the Bible. But its vernacular form in the early 1500s was Michell, also spelt Mychell. Or, put another way, the learned form of the name Michell was Michael. When Michell also became a surname it was … Continue reading 8. Mitchell/Michell →

The Surnames of Cornwall: new edition goes live

We interrupt this series on Cornwall’s top 20 surnames to bring you news that a new edition of The Surnames of Cornwall is now available as an e-book, paperback or hardback. For further details see here. Normal service will be resumed tomorrow with Cornwall’s 8th most common surname.

9. Pearce

Pearce can trace its origin back to the medieval first name Pers or Peris, a form of the Old French Pierre, which was itself derived from Peter. As the name that Jesus gave to one of his disciples, it’s not surprising to find Peris/Pers widely adopted as a surname in most parts of Cornwall by … Continue reading 9. Pearce →

10. Roberts

Robert was yet another name popularised by the Normans after the 11th century. Before then it had been occasionally used as a first name in the British Isles, but not often. From the Germanic name Rodbert, Robert came into English via Old French, as did many of those names that were adopted as surnames in … Continue reading 10. Roberts →

11. Johns

John (from Old French Johan, which itself had an origin in Hebrew Johanan) was a popular medieval first name, this popularity boosted by John the Apostle. It was so popular in fact that, in the 1400s, John had become the most common male first name in Cornwall. Yet, it wasn’t the most common surname in … Continue reading 11. Johns →

12. Bennett/s

The distribution of the 578 households in Cornwall headed by someone called Bennetts or similar in 1861 would strongly suggest that the surname arose in west Cornwall. However, that would be a mistake. If we turn to a map of the name Bennet in the early 1500s and 1641 a very different picture emerges. In … Continue reading 12. Bennett/s →

13. Pascoe

At number 13 in our list of the most common Cornish surnames in 1861 we meet a distinctively Cornish name. While the surnames covered so far were also found in England, almost two thirds (61%) of all Pascoes in 1881 were living in Cornwall. The name was a Cornish variant of Middle English and Norman-French … Continue reading 13. Pascoe →

14. Symons/Semmens

As we have seen, some medieval first names were prone to give rise to a large variety of variants. Sometimes, this occurred through the addition of suffixes, such as -kin or -cock. Often, an would make its appearance at the end of the name. At other times it resulted from the varied spellings adopted … Continue reading 14. Symons/Semmens →