Surnames
by Donald D. Erwin
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose; by any other name would smell so sweet.”
William Shakespeare
Today we all have surnames, or family names, but we are apt to forget that it was not always so. The first known people to have surnames were the Chinese. Legends have it that Emperor Fushi decreed the use of surnames in 2852 BC. The Chinese customarily have three names. The surname is placed first and comes from one of the 438 words in the sacred Chinese poem Po-Chia-Hsing. The family name is followed by a generation name, taken from a poem of thirty characters adopted by each family. The given name is then placed last.
Early on the Romans had only one name. They later adopted the practice of using three names. The given name was first and was called a “praenomen.” This was followed by the “nomen,” which designated the gens, or clan. The last name designated the family and is known as the “cognomen.” Some Romans added a fourth name, the “agnomen,” to commemorate an illustrious action, or remarkable event. As the Roman Empire began to decline, family names became confused and single names once again became the norm.
During the early Middle Ages, people were referred to by a single given name. But gradually the custom of adding another name as a way to distinguish individuals gained popularity. Certain distinct traits became commonly used as a part of this practice. For instance, the place of birth: St. Francis of Assisi; a descriptive characteristic: Lambert Le Tort, an Old French poet whose name means “Lambert the Twisted;” the person’s occupation: Piers Plowman; or the use of the father’s name: Leif Ericsson, meaning literally Lief, son of Eric.
But, even though this custom was the source of all European-based surnames used today, those used in the early Middle Ages did not apply to families, nor were they hereditary. Whether these “second names” evolved into fixed, hereditary surnames is difficult to pinpoint with any accuracy since the practice advanced slowly over a period of several hundreds of years. Many fixed surnames existed alongside the more temporary by-names and descriptive terms used by the people as surnames.
The modern hereditary use of surnames is a practice that originated among the Venetian aristocracy in Italy about the tenth or eleventh centuries. Most historians seem to believe that Norman crusaders returning from the Holy Land took note of this custom, and introduced the practice to England, probably starting during the second half of the eleventh century. Prior to that time, particularly during the “Dark Ages” between the fifth and eleventh centuries, people were largely illiterate, lived in rural areas or small villages, and had little need of distinction beyond their given names.
During Biblical times it was the practice to refer to individuals by their given names, combined with the locality in which they resided, such as “Jesus of Nazareth.” After the Norman Conquest at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 it soon became a common practice add “de” in front of one’s place of origin, such as William de Irwyn, literally meaning “William of Irwyn.” And, as populations grew, the need to identify individuals by surnames became a necessity. The acquisition of surnames during the following several centuries was affected by many factors, including social class and social structure, cultural tradition, and the naming practices in neighboring cultures. By the twelfth century, the use of a second name had become so widespread that, in some places, it was considered vulgar not to have one.
Surnames in Scotland were adopted for the same reasons, and at about the same time, as they were in England and Wales. Nonetheless, it is generally thought that Malcolm II of Scotland was instrumental in introducing family names to Scotland. While some individuals in the Highlands had been taking clan names as their own for several centuries – meaning of a certain clan – it was not the practice in the rest of Scotland. In the Lowlands some territorial names were being introduced as surnames in the eleventh century, mostly by landed people. It was not, however, until early in the twelfth century, during the reign of David I as King of Scots (r. 1124-1153), that surnames became common in Scotland.
Many European-based surnames are derived from patronymics, i.e. the forming of a surname from the father’s given name. Many of these surnames can be recognized by the termination son, such as Williamson, Johnson and Donaldson, meaning literally “the son of John,” or “the son of Donald,” etc. Many individuals became known by their trades, such as Taylor, Smith, Porter, Baker or Butcher. In some rare cases, the naming practice was metronymic, wherein the surname was derived from the mother’s given name. The proximity to geographical features, as in Wood, or Rivers, or the use of personal physical characteristics was common. Some examples are: Little, Small, Long (meaning tall, and sometimes brutalized by the Scots twang into Lang), Reid (red) or Blackmantle.
The majority of the ancient Scottish surnames were territorial. In other words they were based on place names or geographical locations, such as England, North or West. Many surnames, such as Moray, Crawford, Cunningham, Dunbar, Forbes, Guthrie and Douglas, resulted from a prior-named castle or lordship. Less popular methods of surname origins include house names such as Rothchild, or after one’s character such as Stern. In some cases an individual was named after a bird or an animal such as Lamb for a gentle or inoffensive person, while Fox might be used for a person who was cunning, and Wolf or Eagle for an aggressive individual. Surnames were also derived from seasons such as Winter and Spring, and status such as Bachelor, Knight and Squire.
Early on the sound of one’s name was more important than the way it was spelled. It should also be remembered that Gaelic, English and Old Scots were all spoken in Scotland during this period, and that Latin was used for most formal documents and at formal occasions. Family names, as well as place names, tended to change over time. In this era few people outside of the clergy could actually read and write, and then – more often than not – Latin was the preferred medium. In addition, it was not until Henry VIII standardized English (Kings English) that there was any uniformity. Even Shakespeare, who was considered literate, spelled his name in at least twenty different ways during his lifetime.
We can be certain that by about 1450 at the latest, most people of whatever social rank had a fixed, hereditary surname. This surname identified the family, provided a link with the family’s past, and would preserve its identity in the future. It is not surprising that the preservation of surnames became a matter of family pride. It was a cause for much regret if a man had no male descendants to whom he could pass on the surname he himself had inherited and had borne with pride.
We generally think of names with three parts: first, middle and last. First names are called “given” or “Christian” names, because early Christians changed their pagan first names to Christian names at baptism. Most first names used in the Western World today originate from five languages: Hebrew, Teutonic, Greek, Italic and Celtic. Most European languages – and those that have had the greatest influence on English – are derived from the family of languages known as Indo – European.
Except for Greek, the primary groups within this family have produced many sub-languages. Teutonic includes the Germanic group that has fathered various forms of High and Low German, from which are derived Dutch, Flemish, Yiddish and English. From Italic emerged Latin, which in turn, has given us Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian. Celtic refers to a family of languages used in the British Isles dating back to 1000 B.C. including Erse, Scottish, Gaelic, Irish Manx, Breton, Cornish and Welsh. Hebrew belongs to a family of languages known as the Afro-Asiatic family.
Hebrew contributed biblical names, which are the earliest personal names on record. For the most part, biblical names are easy to understand because their roots can be easily traced to the Hebrew, and many are used in the Bible itself. Today about half of the English-speaking population have first names from the New Testament such as Elizabeth, Mary, John and Joseph.
The Teutonic tongues gave us names linked with warlike characteristics, such as Charles (to become adult), or Ethel (noble). The Greek, Latin and Celtic languages also gave us names for personal characteristics and abstract qualities. For example, the Greek name Andrew means “manly,” the Greek Dorothy is “gift of God,” the Latin Victor means “victory in battle,” and the Latin Laura translates to “the air.” Names of Celtic origin are almost poetic, such as Kevin meaning “gentle and beloved” and Morgan meaning “sea dweller.”
While there is a wealth of first names available, the actual selection process has been somewhat limited. It is necessary to remember that in 1545 the Catholic Church made the use of a saint’s name mandatory for baptism, so for centuries first names have been confined to the John and Mary tradition. In fact, in all western countries during the Middle Ages, there were only about twenty common names for infant boys and girls, and John and Mary were most frequently used. In the 1600s the Protestants rejected anything associated with Catholicism, so in came names from the Old Testament, such as Elijah, Priscilla and Joshua.
Personal names have had periods of popularity, so it is not uncommon to find many similarly-named people in a generation, for example: “William and Mary and their children David, Mary, and John.” Many names may be identified strongly with a particular gender; e.g., William for boys, and Mary for girls. Others may be ambiguous, such as Lee, or have only slightly variant spellings based on gender, such as Frances (usually female) and Francis (usually male).
Middle names weren’t used until the fifteenth century when a second “first” name was used as a status symbol by German nobility. Many years passed before this practice became widespread, and in the United States it did not become popular until after the Revolutionary War, when many families began using the mother’s maiden name as a middle name. Later, an honored relative or friend’s name, or a popular figure, such as Lafayette, George, Benjamin and Franklin, became popular as middle names for males, and girl babies were given names like Elizabeth, Margaret and Helen; some were even endowed with family names of extended family members.
Surnames that seem to defy classification or explanation may be merely a corruption of ancient forms that have become disguised often beyond recognition. This may have resulted from ignorance of spelling, variations in pronunciation, or merely from personal preference. Some families even came to America without a fixed surname; and emigrants from continental Europe frequently translated or otherwise modified their names upon arrival.
If an eldest son assumed the given name of his father for a surname, as was the tradition in certain cultures, he would be designated as such in legal records. On his father’s death, however, the son might revert back to his father’s surname for the purpose of inheritance. It is possible to have multiple documents with the same name, but actually be different individuals.
Similarly, the terms “Senior” and “Junior” following a name did not necessarily imply a father and son relationship. It could have been an uncle and nephew who had the same name and lived near each other; a grandfather and a grandchild living together; or even two unrelated individuals with the same name but of different ages who lived near each other. In these cases, the suffix merely meant the older and the younger respectively.
The surname of my Erwin ancestors has had many forms over the centuries. First, there was the Irveni tribe in Northern Ireland. During the 300s and 400s the members of this tribe, under a High King named Niall, gradually gained the name of “Erin-viene. “ This seems to have been as a result of their raiding the Scottish coast from Northern Ireland. “Erin-viene” (which – over several centuries – evolved into Erinvine, Eryvine, Erivine, Irving, Irwyn, Irvine, and in our case Erwin about 1750 in North Carolina), comes from the ancient Celto-Scythick word Erin-viene or Erin-fiene, and meant a “true or brave west-land man.” Erin, in both old Gaelic and Welsh, meant “west.” Erin is used liberally today as a synonym for Ireland, which is west of Scotland. According to early scholars the ancient meaning of viene or fiene meant “a resolute or worthy man.” Today the original meaning of our name is generally interpreted as “the man from the west.”
During the next three hundred years or so the old clan name of “Erinvine” seems to have been used. This was also the time when the clan inhabited an area where the town of Irvine now stands. Around 848 some members of the clan, now firmly settled for over four hundred years in Caledonia, an area that would be known as Scotland, were calling themselves “Eryvine.”
Historical records indicate that by 965 AD the name had evolved into “Erivine.” In 1004 the members of the clan at Bonshaw were calling themselves “Irving.”
At some point, probably during the period of William the Conqueror, also remembered as the King of England and Duke of Normandy (1028-1087), the chieftain of the Border branch of the Irving family – as well as certain family heads in Ayshire – took the Norman-sounding surname “de Irwyn,” meaning of Irvine. Many of his clansmen and/or relatives took the same name after him, but others continued to use Irving.
Surviving documents indicate that in 1323,William, Baron and Laird of Drum, was using “de Irwyn” as his surname. The next generation used only “Irwyn.” By 1425, however, the Drum branch of the clan was using “Irvine” as their surname, and they continue to use this version today in Scotland. Our immigrant ancestor, James N. Irvine, arrived in William Penn’s colony about 1739. A decade or so later – but most likely when he moved his family to Rowan County, North Carolina, about 1752 – he and his descendants began spelling their last name as “Erwin.”
Across the history of the Erinvine/Erivine/Irving/Irwyn/Irvine clan, in literature and in genealogical records, writers have used many variations of the Name, and during the last fifteen hundred years or so scores of variations have been cited. There are many reasons why surnames changed and evolved over time, but the most common reason seems to be that the owner of the name was illiterate. When a scribe or a public official recorded the name of a person who could not read or write it was most likely written as it sounded to the writer.
Among the more humble classes of European society, and especially among the illiterate, individuals had little choice but to accept the mistakes of officials, clerks, and priests who officially bestowed upon them new versions of their surnames, just as they had meekly accepted the surnames which they were born with.
Illiteracy, however, was not the reason James N. Irvine, my immigrant ancestor, changed the spelling of his name. It is fairly clear, from what we know about him, that he was literate. In fact, he most likely attended the University of Aberdeen as a youth. So why did he deliberately make the change? Was it perhaps because his father back in Scotland had disinherited him because he married without prior permission? Did he have a “past” in Scotland that he wished to escape? Was it his way to make a new start in the New World? Did it have something to do with acquiring land? History does not tell us, so we can only wonder.
Surname spelling and pronunciation has continued to evolve over the centuries, with recent generations often unaware of the origin and evolution of their surnames. During the past fifteen centuries the original family name of Erinviene has been altered into many different versions.
Some of them are:
| AIRWIN AREWINE ARVINGE ARVON ARWINE CURWEN CURWING CURWINGS deHERWYNE deHIREWINE deIREVIGNE deIRUWYN deIRWIN deIRWYN deORVIN deYREWYNE D’ORVIN EAREWIN EARVEN EARWEN EARWIN EARWING EIRRYN EIRVEN EIRVIN EIRVING EIRVYN EIRWIN EORVIN EORWINE ERBEINE ERENVINE ERENWINE EREVEIN EREVIN EREVINE EREWYNIS ERIN ERIN-FEINE |
ERINFEINER ERIN-VEINE EREIVINE ERIVEN ERIVIN ERIVEEN ERNWINE ERUM ERVAN ERVEN ERVENING ERVENS ERVEWIN ERVIEN ERVIN ERVINE ERVING ERVINGE ERVPNNE ERVION ERVWIN ERVWYN ERWANE ERWEIN ERWIN ERWINE ERWING ERWINN ERWINNE ERWINSKI ERWINSS ERWVIN ERWYN ERWYNE ERYVINE ERYVYNE ERYVINO ERYVINUS ERYWEN |
EUERVINUS EURINI EURWINGS HERWYND HIEREWINE HIREVIGNE HIREWINE HURVEN IARWIN IERIVEN IERVINE IREVIN IREVIGNE IREWIN IREWING IREWYN IREWYNE IRIN IRN IRREWIN IRREWING IRREWINGS IRRUEIN IRRUEN IRRUIN IRRVINGS IRRUWIN IRRUWING IRRUWINGUS IRRWIN IRRWING IRRUWYNG IRRWYNNIS IRUEYN IRUIUN IRUIN IRUINE IRUING IRUVINE |
IRUWYN IRUWYNE IRLTYN IRUYNE IRREIN IRVANE IRVFEIN RVEING IRVEN IRVENE IRVEYN IRVIN IRVINE IRVINEE IRVINER IRVING IRVINGS IRVINGE IRRIN IRVINEY IRVINN IRVINS IRVON IRVINUE IRVUN IRVYERINS IRVYING IRVYN IRWAN IRWAIN IRWAYNE IRWAYNES IRWEN IRWEIN IRWEING IRWENIS IRWEIN IRWIN IRWINE |
IRWING IRWINGE IRWINGER IRWINGH IRWINGUS IRWINN IRWINS IRWIRN IRWON IRWYN IRWYNE IRVVWNG IRWYNN IRWYNNIS IRYNAGIO OERIN OERYN ORVINE ORWIN ORRUEIN OURINE OURON OURREN OWYRN UIRVINE UIRWIN UREWENS UREWING UROWRIN URRWINE URUIN URVEN URVENS URVIN URVINE URWAIN URWAINE URWAN URWEN |
URWENN URWENS URWIN URWINE URWING URWINS URVIUNG URWYNG VERVINE VROWING VERWAYN VRUING VRUVING VRVIN VRWAINE VRWAN VRVYNN VRWAYN VRWAYNE VRWEN VRWIN VRWM VRWING VRYNE YIRWING YIVEWING YREWING YREIN YRWEN YRWENS YRVIN YRWIN YRWING YRWYNE |