MISSING LINKS: A Weekly Newsletter for Genealogists Vol. 4, No. 2, 8 January 1999; Circulation: 16,850+ Copyright (c) 1996-99 Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley Editor-at-Fault: Julia M. Case Co-Editor-to-Blame: Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG * * * * * WELDING LINKS: WHAT'S IN A NAME? by Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG <[email protected]> <http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~gormleym/index.htm> The "-bottom" suffix on surnames, common in the north of England, gives rise to sniggers because the meaning of the name has long been forgotten, or is not familiar to most Americans. Take the name SHUFFLEBOTTOM. The "-bottom," suffix, originally spelled botham, refers to the broad bottom of a valley, and the Shuffle- part of this name is more correctly "Shipper-" and refers to a spring where sheep were washed. SHUFFLEBOTHAM or SHUFFLEBOTTOM are variants of SHIPPERBOTTOM. Many other family names, especially some of the English ones, are not what they seem to be. For example, the surname HOGG (also spelled HOGGE and HOGGS) means a "descendant of Hodge." Hodge was a nickname for Roger. It also referred to a dweller near a portion of wood marked off for a clearing, or men of this name might have acquired it because they dwelled at the sign of the hog (hogue). It also was an unkind nickname for a self-indulgent, gluttonous person. Medieval occupations are reflected in many English surnames. Some are obvious; others not so. We recognize: BAKER, CARPENTER, CARTWRIGHT, COOK, COOPER, FISHER, GARDNER, HUNT/HUNTER, MARCHANT/MERCHANT, MASON, MILLER, PARKER, PARSONS, PEPPER, POTTER, SAWYER, SMITH, TANNER, THATCHER, TURNER, TYLER, WAINWRIGHT, WEAVER, and WRIGHT. However, some surnames which look obvious, such as FARMER, have other meanings. FARMER has a modern meaning that actually came after the creation of the surname. Originally, a farmer was a tax collector as farm once meant "firm or fixed payment." A few other surnames whose medieval origins pertained to the occupations of our ancestors are: BACCHUS -- worker in the bakehouse; BUTLER -- chief servant who supervised the bottles; CHALLENDER -- seller of blankets; CHAPMAN -- originally a merchant, later a peddler; CLARK(E) -- a minor cleric; DAY -- often a worker in a diary; FULLER -- one who "fulled" cloth, cleansing it; HAYWARD -- the "hedgeguard" the one in charge of fences and enclosures; KELLOGG -- literally "kill hog" (a slaughterer); LEACH -- a doctor; LISTER -- a dyer of cloth; MARSHALL -- originally in charge of horses, rising to be a high official; MERCER -- a dealer in silks and various fabrics; SPENCER -- a dispenser of provisions, a steward or butler; TODD -- foxhunter; TUCKER -- a cloth worker; and WOODWARD -- a forester. Ever wonder what the name Shakespeare really means? Various surname dictionaries provide several explanations, but most say it means "a shaker or brandisher of a lance or spear -- a soldier." It also is said to be a nickname for a belligerent person or perhaps a bawdy name for an exhibitionist. Learning more about the history and origins of the surnames hanging upon your family tree can be entertaining and educational. Most public libraries have several surname dictionaries, and since the onomastics scholars do not all agree on every name, consult several works. Carol Pridgen Martoccia 903 East Fifth St. Greenville, NC 27858 PRIDGEN Homepage : http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6297 PRIDGEN Archives: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl List manager for the Pridgen Family and for Wilson County, NC (NCWilson)