Volks, I finished reading Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson. I recommend it for a deeper understanding of the English language and how our ancestors may have spoken. I learned more of the evolution of English. I thought I might cite a few relevent lines for the edification of all. "In England last names did not become usual until after the Norman conquest, and in many other European countries, such as Holland, they evolved much later still. Most surnames come ultimately . . from one of four sourcdes: places-names (Lincoln) , nicknames (Whitehead, Armstrong), trade names (Smith, Carpenter) , and patronymics, that is names indicatging a familial relationship (Johnson, Robertson). "It's surprising how many medieval occupations are embedded in modern family names. Some are obvious: Bowman, Archer, Carpenter, Shepherd, Forrester. But many ohters are not, eithr because the craft has died or become, rare, as with Fuler (a cleanser of cloths) and Fletcher (a maker of bows and arrows) or because the spelling has been corrupted in some way, as with Bateman (a corrupted from of boatman) or because the name uses a regionalism, as with Akerman (a provincial word for a plowman ) . It mustn't be forgotten that this was a time of great flux in the English language, when many regional spellings and words were completing for dominance. Thus such names as Hill, Hall, and Hull could all originally have meant Hill but come from different parts of the country. Smith is the most common name in America and Britain, but it is also one of the most common in nearly every other European language. The German Schmidt, the French Ferrier, Italian Ferraro, Spanish Herrero, Hunganian Kovacs, and Russian Kusnetzov, are all Smiths." "English names based on places almost always had prepositions to begin with but these gradually disappeared, so that John of Preston became just John Prestohn, though occasionally they survive in names like Atwater and Underwood or as remnants in names like Noakes or Nash (for atten Ash, "by the ash tree"). "The origins of other names are not immediately apparent because they come from non-English sources. Russell was from the medieval French roussell, "red-haired", while Morgan is Welsh for white-haired. Sometimes strange literal meanings are hidden in innocuous-sounding names. Kennedy, means "ugly head" in Gaelic, Boyd means "yellow-faced or sickly", Campbell means "crooked mouth." The same is equally true of other languages. As Mario Pei notes, Gorky means "bitten," Tolstoy means "fat," . . . " . . 183 of the 200 most common last names in America are British. However, a few names that are common in America are noticeably less common in Britian. Johnson is the second most common name in the US (after Smith), but comes much further down the list in Britian. The reason for this is of course the great influx of Swedes to America in the 19th century -- though in fact Johnson is not a native Swedish name. It is an Americanizing of the Swedish Jonsson or Johansson. Another name much more often encountered in America than Britain is Miller. In Britain millers were unpopular thoughout much of history because of their supposed tendency to cheat the farmers who brought them grain. So it was not a flattering name. A modern equivalent might be the name Landlord. Most Millers in America were in fact originally Muellers or Mu^llers. The German word had the same meaning but did not carry the same derisory connotations." P R O N U N C I A T I O N " . . . THE Elizabethans, unlike modern English speakers, continued to pronounce many 'er' words as 'ar' ones, rhyming serve with carve and convert with depart. In England, some of these pronunciations survive, particularly in proper nouns, such as Derby, Derkeley, and Berkshire, though there are many exceptions . . . ". . . modern England it is considered more refined to pronounce 'ate' as 'et'. -eddie ------- End of forwarded message ------- ------- End of forwarded message ------- ------- End of forwarded message ------- ------- End of forwarded message -------

Eddie & All: When I first began searching my family name, I did what many beginning researchers do, went to the books which purport to explain the origin of surnames.. I found several variations of the name "Herrell, Harrold etc.". The origins, according to the books, were that Knights who fought with William The Conqueror were given land in England.. Some of them were from Harel in Normandy and registered the land under that name, which didn't make a lot sense to me.. Another origin stated that some men who carried messages for the Kings and rulers were called "Heralds" hence the name Herald etc.. Some stated that the name was of Norse origin, so I began a search into Norse history for the name and after much reading found the first Harrell, Harrold, was an ancient territorial King or Chieftain in Norway. His name was Wartooth Haraldar and he was called Wartooth because he had a very large tooth which protruded from his mouth! He was killed in battle and one of the warriors severed his head and hung it on his saddlehorn to bring home and show off.. During the ride home that big tooth rubbed against the warriors' leg, wounding it, and he took blood poison and died.. I found many interesting stories while researching the Harrell etc. name.. which I believe prove that the name originated in the area around Norway, Denmark and Sweden and spread into France, Scotland, Ireland and England from there between 700 and 1000 A.D... The Harraldars were Vikings.. G. Lee Hearl Authentic Appalachian Storyteller Abingdon, Va..