2007-06-18 10:28:17 · 7 answers · asked by rdpp36 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Genealogy
heres a good site
http://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/bl_surnames-a.htm
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2007-06-18 11:12:09 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
House of Name is a coat of arms peddler.
Do not be taken in. They sell them to people based solely on a surname. Not everyone with the same surname comes from the same root. They will sell you one even if you are not a direct descendant of the person granted one or you might not even be related.
Genealogist are not too concerned with meanings and origins of surnames.
I might add some of these peddlers will do "research" and "link" you to a person granted a coat of arms.
Nothingusefullearned has given you a very good answer.
2007-06-18 18:05:20 · answer #2 · answered by Shirley T 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are lots of websites that provide name meanings. You can also check your local library.
Here is one website: http://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/bl_meaning.htm
When the royalty in medieval times first declared that people must henceforth use surnames, names were first derived from the father's (or even mother's) names. Look at all the names ending with "-son" or "-dotter". Names were derived from locations, cities, counties, etc., even from farms! Names were derived from professions (Smith, Cooper).
And, when these folks moved, they often changed their names to fit in with the new folks (from Spain to France, from Germany to England; all over to the U.S. of A.)
Not only that, early record keepers didn't care if records were correct or not; if they misspelled a name, that BECAME the name! [See Ulysses S. Grant -- Hugo Ulysses Grant!]
So, depending upon the language of the original name, you might be able to figure it out yourself.
2007-06-18 18:16:16 · answer #3 · answered by Nothingusefullearnedinschool 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Try House of Names on the web.
Type your last name in the search box,and good luck.
Heraldry sites are about family names,and coats of arms.
2007-06-18 17:43:53 · answer #4 · answered by PantherPassant 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You learn meaning about your family by genealogy research of your own ancestors - not someone else's.
2007-06-18 18:27:08 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
just click on the links posted below, type your name in the surname search bars and see what they come up with.
http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.c/qx/Witts-coat-arms.htm
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/default.aspx hope these help you.
2007-06-18 17:44:46 · answer #6 · answered by itsjustme 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
just type it in google.
2007-06-18 20:43:09 · answer #7 · answered by Isabelle1799 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋