Someone named Aguilar may have originally lived near an eagle’s nest; the name refers to a “haunt for eagles.” Other common geographic surnames of this type include Medina and Oyarzun (both place names), Navarro (“from Navarre”), Serrano (meaning “highlander”), and still other geographic surnames refer to features of the landscape where a family lived, such as Vega (“meadow”), Mendoza (“cold mountain”), Morales (“blackberry groves”), Torres (“towers”), and Iglesias (“churches”). all Mac- names become Nic- if the person is female. It is a toponymic name for someone from a few places named Kelly in Scotland. Medina – 431,518 – Arabic origins His son would be Juan Martinez (Juan, son of Martin). Some other common occupational surnames: 4. A woman may take only her mother's surname. It is a patronymic name that means ‘son of Walter.’ The name Walter comes from Old German and means ‘ruler of the army.’ The name may have originally referred to someone who worked as a military general. Some of the Scottish surnames are the clan name of some powerful Scottish families that once ruled over that territory. The Castilian double surname naming system of the 16th century didn’t become common throughout Spain until the 1800s. Others derive from distinguishing features, for example Macilbowie (son of the yellow haired lad), Macilchrum (son of the bent one). Alternatively, it could have been a nickname for someone who lived near the town bell. A person, for example may have two last names, one from their mother and one from their father. Sometimes a surname that denoted a person’s job or trade was tacked on to a person’s given name. This information is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional health services. On the ScotlandsPeople site we use the Beider-Morse phonetic matching system (sometimes abbreviated as BMPM). Do let us know of them in the comment section below. Some include the suffix “de” to indicate “of” or “from” a place, such as Del Olmo (“from the elm tree”) and Davila (from “d’Avila,” meaning “from the town of Avila”). Studies suggest the occasional use of the Scottish surnames or last names started somewhere between the 10th and 12th centuries when the Normans introduced them in 1066. The name Innes has its origins in the Gaelic word ‘inis,’ that means ‘island.’. Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Was this perhaps a reference to the colour of his hair? It is very common to find an e added to the end of surnames in earlier records (for example, Robertsone for Robertson, Pearsone for Pearson), or that w and u are interchangeable (for example, Gowrlay for Gourlay or Crauford for Crawford), or u being inserted to surnames ending in on or one (for example Cameroun for Cameron, Robertsoun or Robertsoune for Robertson). Using the asterisk wildcard (*) will return both versions in one search, for example M*CDONALD will retrieve both MCDONALD and MACDONALD entries. There are many examples in the old parish registers, particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries, for example Ncfarlane, Ncdonald, Ncdearmit, Ncfee, but there are only isolated examples by the early 19th century. It is derived from the Gaelic name ‘Mac Eoghain,’ meaning ‘son of Eoghain.’ The name Eoghain is likely a variant of the name Eugene, which comes from the Old Greek name ‘Eugenes,’ meaning ‘well-born.’, It is a patronymic name that means ‘son of Patrick.’ The name Patrick comes from the Old Latin name Patricius meaning a ‘nobleman.’. It is a patronymic name that means ‘son of Donald. Women sometimes add their husband’s surname to the end of theirs or in place of their mother’s surname, sometimes with a “de” between the two names. Please read our Disclaimer. When researching your pre-19th-century Spanish ancestors, therefore, remember that naming patterns then differed from naming patterns today. For more information on this see the Steve Morse website. In one generation, an individual might be Martin Perez (Martin, son of Pedro). It is derived from the Middle English word ‘blake.’ The name likely referred to those with a dark complexion or those with dark hair. FamilyEducation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Fuzzy matching compares each word in the name searched for with each word in the names in the index using the Levenshtein distance formula. It is derived from the Middle English word ‘belle’ that means bell. Have you found her father's occupation in any records yet? It is a patronymic name that means ‘son of Laurence.’ The name Laurence comes from an Old Roman name ‘Laurentius’ meaning from Laurentum, which was a city in Ancient Italy. Abercrombie means ‘confluence of rivers at a bend’ or the ‘mouth of the bendy river.’, A popular Scottish surname, Aitken has a patronymic origin, and is derived from the name Adam. A patronymic name is the one derived from the father’s or any of the male ancestor’s forename. Some of the Scottish surnames are known to have patronymic, habitational, ethnic, topographical, as well as occupational origin. to locate them. Once the ban was lifted in 1774, some reverted to the Macgregor name, but others did not. This has been compiled over many years by staff in the National Records of Scotland and ScotlandsPeople Centre, often based on suggestions from customers. Here are a couple of lists that you might find interesting. It comes from Old English, and is a toponymic name for those who lived by a wood or forest. In some Highland areas, however, fixed surnames did not become the norm until the 18th century, and in parts of the Northern Isles until the 19th century. Spanish surnames started being used in medieval times, when populations were growing and it became necessary to distinguish between individuals with the same given name. Norman influence filtered into Scotland after their invasion of England, and was actively encouraged by Scottish kings. The surname Milne is an occupational one and would have referred to someone who worked as a miller. Ferguson has a patronymic origin and means ‘son of Fergus.’ The name Fergus originates from the Gaelic word ‘Fearghas,’ which comprises of the Gaelic elements ‘fear’ meaning ‘man’ and ‘gus’ meaning ‘vigor.’. A value of 0 indicates that the surname was not recorded in 1841. Find out what your last name means. The surname was likely used as a nickname for someone who had a large built or had a tall stature. Menzies and Graham are recognised Anglo-Norman surnames also first seen in Scotland at this time. By incidence. Many of the first permanent surnames are territorial in origin, as landowners became known by the name of the lands that they held, for example Murray from the lands of Moray, and Ogilvie, which, according to Black, derives from the barony of Ogilvie in the parish of Glamis, Angus.