Bernard Deacon's Blog, page 5

New edition of The Surnames of Cornwall – an update

A new, updated and revised edition of The Surnames of Cornwall should be available by August 19th Further details and provisional pricing can be found here, along with details of my other books. Here are some of the reviews of the first edition ….

15. Hosking

Hosking and its variants is a surname that, more than most, seems to trigger disagreement over its origins. The consensus among the surname experts is that Hosking and its various spelling variants emerged from Middle English Osekin. The theory is that it was a pet form of first names beginning Os-, such as Osborne, Osmond … Continue reading 15. Hosking →

16. Davy/Davies

The first name David was borrowed from the Hebrew Old Testament. In Old French the vernacular form was Davy and this entered Middle English with the Norman invasion of 1066. The name David was popular earlier than that in Wales (where the cult of St David was centred) and Brittany. Therefore, we might presume that … Continue reading 16. Davy/Davies →

17. Jenkin

The Latin name Johannes eventually gave us Jean in French and John in English. In medieval times Johns were often more familiarly known as Jan or Jen. This form then had -kin added to it to give the 16th century Jenkyn, Jankyn and similar. Before becoming a hereditary surname the suffix -kin was first used … Continue reading 17. Jenkin →

18. Hocken/Hocking

Number 18 on our list of the most common surnames in 1861 Cornwall is Hocken, also spelt Hockin and Hocking. Several theories used to swirl around the origins of this name but the most likely is that it originally came from an old English name Hocca, the -in being added to make a pet name. … Continue reading 18. Hocken/Hocking →

Cornwall’s top 20 surnames: 19. Hicks

The medieval first names introduced to the British Isles from France by the Normans spawned a bewildering number of variants. In the late medieval period, when the number of first names was shrinking, this had the advantage of helping to differentiate folk with the same second name. The name Richard was particularly prolific when it …

Cornwall’s top 20 surnames: the countdown begins

What were the most common surnames in Cornwall in 1861? But first, why 1861? At this time – and indeed until the 1890s – in-migration into Cornwall from England was minimal, Cornwall having a higher proportion of locally born residents than any English county. Mass migration had set in during the late 1840s but the …

Coming soon: a new edition of The Surnames of Cornwall

This month I shall be publishing a new revised and extended edition of The Surnames of Cornwall which, as of today, will be temporarily unavailable online. For the first time, this book will also be available in hardback. The updated edition includes a further 100 surnames distinctive to Cornwall, bringing the total to around 850 …

Penzance: end of the line

We have reached the final registration district (RD) in this tour of Cornwall’s nineteenth century districts and their migration patterns. Penzance was Cornwall’s most westerly RD but had a somewhat more diverse economic structure in the 1800s than its immediate neighbours. Although there were miners, particularly along the coast between St Just and St Ives, … Continue reading Penzance: end of the line →

Camborne-Redruth: Cornwall’s Central Emigration District

The Redruth RD of the nineteenth century included within its bounds the central mining district. Named such because of its geographical centrality in the emerging eighteenth century industrial region of west Cornwall, the central mining district was also the most prolific producer of tin and copper ore from the early 1700s onwards. Fittingly, after the … Continue reading Camborne-Redruth: Cornwall’s Central Emigration District →