Collins Dictionary Of Surnames: From Abbey to Mutton, Nabbs to Zouch

Berrowsee BARROW.

Berry, Berrymansee BURY.

Berry, as those who bear the surname well know, is one of those names which attracts punning comments. The tradesman named Berry who sent a bill to a Mr Mathews received the following message:

‘You have sent in your bill, Berry, before it is due, Berry; your father, the elder, Berry, would not have been such a goose, Berry; but you need not look so black, Berry, for I don’t care a straw, Berry.’

Thomas Tryon writes, in his novel Lady: ‘Miss Berry’s first name was Mary, but she was too nice for me to make use of the obvious euphony of her names. Some of the guys from the feed store would walk by hollering “Mary Berry’s got beriberi,” or “Mary Berry loves Harry Carey,” but Miss Berry, whose hearing might have been better, would only nod and smile.’

Bevan, Bevans, Bevens, Bevinsee Evan.

Beves, Bevis, Bevisssee BEAVIS.

Bewchersee BELCHER.

Bewes (Eng) Someone who came from the Norman town Bayeux. A Welsh family would instead look back to an ancestor who was a Hugh; ab Hugh being ‘son of Hugh.’

In Tess of the D’Urbervilles, a novel in which Thomas Hardy makes much of varying forms of surnames, the author mentions that ‘the Debbyhouses, who now are carters, were once the De Bayeux family.’ He also has a character state that: ‘our little Retty Priddle here, you know, is one of the Paridelles - the old family that used to own lots of the lands for miles down this valley.’ Retty, however, is a dairy-maid. The Durbeyfield - D’ Urberville variation is of considerable importance to the story. These Hardy names are not easy to find in directories and may have been his inventions.

Bewleysee BEAULIEU.

Bewshaw, Bewshea, Bewshersee BELCHER.

Bickersee BIGGER.

Biddell, Biddle, Biddlessee BEADLE.

Bigg (Eng) Nickname for a big, strong person.

Bigger (Eng) Possibly a variant of BICKER, an occupational name for a bee-keeper.

Mrs H. Bigger of Wantage, Berks, wrote to a newspaper to say that she was not amused when she was pregnant to hear the oft-repeated remark: ‘I see you’re getting a little bigger.’

Bigod, Bigotsee PARDOE.

Bill, Billmaker (Eng) Occupational name of a sword-maker or one who made bill hooks, used for pruning.

Billington (Eng) From one of the places bearing this name, so called originally because it was a ‘settlement on a sword-shaped hill.’

Billsmithsee SMITH.

Binder (Ger) Occupational name of a barrel maker.

Bindless, Bindloes, Bindlosssee CATCHLOVE.

Bingham (Eng) Descendant of someone who originally came from the place in Nottinghamshire, so-named because it was ‘Binna’s homestead.’

Bircher (Eng) An occupational name, but not of an educationist, as Weekley remarks in his Surnames, a joke which might well be lost on modern children. The origin is French berger, ‘shepherd’.

Bird, Bride, Burd, Byrd (Eng) Occupational name of a birdcatcher, especially finches. Since burde in Middle English referred to a young girl, the surname may in some instances have begun as a nickname for someone thought to have girlish qualities. See DUCK.

Birdseye (Eng) At first glance this name appears to be a variant of BIRDSEY, referring to someone who lived on a ‘birds’ island.’ However, no such English place name appears to exist, and the surname is in any case found in America rather than Britain. The name is likely to be a translation of a German locative name: the Langenscheidt German-English Dictionary, for instance, glosses Vogelaugenholz as ‘bird’s eye wood.’ Professor Weekley, however, in Surnames, thought that ‘the compounds of the physical eye are numerous and have not hitherto been recognized as such.’ He cited BLACKIE, a nickname for someone with black eyes, and the analagous BRIGHTEY, BROWNIE, DOVEY, GOLDIE, GOLDNEY, GOOSEY, HAWKEY, LITTLEY, SHEEPY, SILVERY, SMALLEY, WHITEY, WILDEY, where the second element in each case is ‘eye.’ Birdseye, for Weekley, fitted easily into this group.

A man named Victory Birdseye was a New York senator in 1827.

Clarence Birdseye (1886–1956) founded the Birdseye Seafoods company in 1923. He used to relate to anyone who would listen that one of his ancestors had been a page boy to a queen and used to go hunting with her. One day a hawk swooped towards the queen, whereupon the page boy shot an arrow into its eye. The queen immediately named him Birdseye and the family had been ‘stuck with it’ ever since.

Birtwistle (Eng) Descendant of someone who originally came from a place so-named because of ‘birds gathering at the junction of a stream.’

Bishop (Eng) Occupational name of a bishop’s servant, or nickname for someone of ‘ecclesiastical appearance,’ as Bardsley expresses it. He goes on to say: ‘Nevertheless, most of our Bishops owe their title to the custom of electing a boy-bishop on St Nicholas’ Day.’

The Rev. Thomas Bishop of Johannesburg has said that ecclesiastical names run in his family. ‘My great-grandfather was a Mr Church. He married a Miss Dean and their daughter married a Mr Bishop.’

Black, Blacke, Blackman, Blake, Blakeman (Eng) A nickname based on the Old English word blac, which in modern English has become both ‘black’ and ‘bleach.’ The Old English word perhaps had the sense ‘absence of colour.’ The nickname could therefore have been applied to a person of dark complexion or black hair, but it could equally well have been given to someone who was very pale.

The detective Sexton Blake is the hero of countless stories for boys, written by nearly 200 different authors. He has been described as ‘the poor man’s Sherlock Holmes,’ whom he physically resembles. He also lives in London’s Baker Street.

Blackbeard, Blackbird (Eng) Nickname for a man with a black beard. See WHITBREAD.

Blackburn, Blackford, Blackpool, Blackwall, Blackwater, Blackwell, Blacon (Eng) Descendant of someonewho originally came from any of the places so-named, each one close to a ‘dark stream, pool or spring’. Blakemere is a similar name.

Blackesee BLACK.

Blackett (Eng) Nickname for a man with a black head of hair.

Blackfordsee BLACKBURN.

Blackiesee BIRDSEYE.

Blackmansee BLACK.

Blackpoolsee BLACKBURN.

Blacksmith (Eng) Occupational name of a blacksmith.

Blackwall, Blackwater, Blackwell, Blaconsee BLACKBURN.

Bladesmith, Blades, Bladsmith (Eng) Occupational name of a cutler.

Blair (Scot, Irish) Descendant of someone who originally came from one of the places so-named. Gaelic blár means ‘(battle)field.’

Blake, Blakemansee BLACK.

Blanton This appears to be an English place name, but no trace of the place concerned can be found. The surname nevertheless appears amongst the 2000 most frequent names in the USA.

Blessingtonsee HAMILTON.

Bligh, Bly, Blye, Blythe (Eng) Nickname for a happy person, but see BLIGHT.