where does the surname unsworth originate from?

Answer 1

The ancient Anglo / Saxon surname of UNSWORTH is of Saxon origin. According to one source it is recorded in 'The Saxon Chronicle', compiled by monks in the 10th Century (now in the British Museum). Unsworth (Scandinavian and English) belonging to Unsworth (County Palatine of Lancashire locality of Unsworth, a parish, once a chapelry in the ancient parish of Oldham). The village of Unsworth is today part of Greater Manchester (Manchester being a Roman city), but to all intent is effectively part of the town of Bury. Unsworth lies about 6 miles due north of Manchester centre and 3 miles south of Bury.
Unsworth translates to Unn's Farm or estate. (Hundeslie 1109 to 1125,Hundesworth 1129 to 1291, Undesworth in 1322 Charter Rolls and Lancashire Inquest), the 'H' being lost due to common Lancashire dialect. Extent Manor, Manchester - Charter Rolls & Lancashire Inquests. Later Oundsworth (the 'd' is probably a post Norman intrusion, and the personal name of the old Scandinavian Unn-r (modern Unn & Und) from old English then the spelling was later changed to Unsworth. Variants of this are (were) Unswerth, Unsworthe. In old documents it is sometimes shown as Vnsworth, this is probably because the letter 'u' when carved and particularly in stone was shown as 'V' which is easier to carve.
The name means (AS) 'Enclosure of the Hound or Dog'! or more accurately (OE) 'Hund's enclosure', (probably a man's name).

Answer 2

Hey Angela,

Wow, what a bunch of 'interesting' information you have gotten above. Below, is the text from a source also give below.

English:
Origin: English

Spelling variations of this family name include: Unsworth, Unsworthe, Hunsworth, Hunsworthe and many more.

First found in Lancashire where they were seated from very ancient times, before and after the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Jeffrey Hunsworth, who sailed to Philadelphia in 1840; Jesse Unsworth settled in Philadelphia in 1864; John Unsworth settled in Philadelphia in 1880; Mathew Unswerth settled in Philadelphia in 1870.

Also provided is the GENFORUM for UNSWORTH, where you can ask other UNSWORTH researchers questions, and share mutual interests with them. See web site 2.

LDS Family Search has more than 250 entries for UNSWORTH, and most come from England. See Web Site 3.

You can get further evidence of the origin by tracing your family surname branch of UNSWORTH using vital records. Some of the distant cousins in the GENFORUM may be able to help you with that.

Answer 3

Don't listen to Barrowman. He doesn't have a clue and is just making a pretentious stab at a subject that is way beyond his tiny comprehension.

The truth:

Your name originates from the dawn of time when humans were making their first bold attempts at forming language. The 'worth' part is intact, but the 'uns' is actually an abbreviation for 'Ugly. No shag'. Just imagine the way our ancestors would grunt it. "Hmmph. Look. Female", says the first gorilla man. "Hmmph. Ugly. No shag worth.", replies gorilla man number 2. This cumbersome speech pattern was later refined and shortened to the name Unsworth that we have today.

Hopefully this fascinating look at your history has made a deep impression on your psyche and you can appreciate the development of modern names and language that stem greatly from your hideous forebears.

Thank you for your time.

Answer 4

I know a family called unsworth that live in derbyshire chris jackie son mathewhope this helps.

Answer 5

OOOP Norff!