De-Anglicisation of Names

[Shane]

I'd love to hear what you can tell me about Learmonth.

Thanks,

Shane

[slohairt]

Dia Dhuit!

Ah, MacWage! Ai dinnae ken!

CORLISS I am ashamed to admit that I am stumped. However, a Gaelic transliteration would be Ceoirleas (pronounced CORE-LAS)

P.S. More about Campbell. Tradition holds that the semi-historical Diarmaid Ó Duibhne was the clan's founder. Ó Duibhne and Mac Duibhne would be the same name. Your ancestors would have be Maol Chaluim Mac Duibhne, Gille Easpuig Caimbeul (Archibald was used for many years as an "equivalent" to Gille Easpuig, anglicised Gillespic or Gillespie meaning servant of the bishop) and Aoife Ni Mhic Dhuibhne.

[slohairt]

Dia Dhuit, A Shéain!

Yes, your name Shane is an anglicisation of mine, Seán meaning John. The accent is just shifted to the "e" instead of the "a"



LEARMONTH is a Scottish Borders name. So therefore it would be of Lowland Scots origin, presumably. I couldn't find the exact etymology but the first element is likely from the Gaelic Leathar meaning half. This would refer to a land measure.

[MacWage]

Dia Dhuit!

Ah, MacWage! Ai dinnae ken!

I wasn't trying to push it, but did. You just seem to know something I have wondered for several years, but have never been able to find anyone who could help.

I appologize again.


BTW, if interested, my actual name is pronounced Wa-long A-J-eh-s, JUST like the pay. Several of us are known as "Wage," as am my father (and I), so I am "Son of Wage" de-anglicized to MacWage!

[gilmore]

I wasn't trying to push it, but did. You just seem to know something I have wondered for several years, but have never been able to find anyone who could help.

I appologize again.


BTW, if interested, my actual name is pronounced Wa-long A-J-eh-s, JUST like the pay. Several of us are known as "Wage," as am my father (and I), so I am "Son of Wage" de-anglicized to MacWage!

Here is an interesting link to a surname profiler that shows the geographical distribution of surnames in two censuses of England, Scotland and Wales in the years 1881 and 1998. http://www.spatial-literacy.org/UCLnames/Surnames.aspx

I ran Wage but found nothing. There must have been at least 100 individuals with a surname in the 1998 Electoral Register for results. The profiler gave the name Wager instead. In 1881 it was most common in southeast England, near the Welsh border and in the Midlands (I think. My British geography isn't the best.)

"Latta" is shown to have been most common in 1881 a bit north of the border, around Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Of course, the only way to really know the origin of a name is through genealogical research, one generation at a time, starting with one's parents and working backward.

[MacWage]

Here is an interesting link to a surname profiler that shows the geographical distribution of surnames in two censuses of England, Scotland and Wales in the years 1881 and 1998. http://www.spatial-literacy.org/UCLnames/Surnames.aspx

I ran Wage but found nothing. There must have been at least 100 individuals with a surname in the 1998 Electoral Register for results. The profiler gave the name Wager instead. In 1881 it was most common in southeast England, near the Welsh border and in the Midlands (I think. My British geography isn't the best.)

"Latta" is shown to have been most common in 1881 a bit north of the border, around Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Of course, the only way to really know the origin of a name is through genealogical research, one generation at a time, starting with one's parents and working backward.

If Wages, Wagers, or Wager are ran on the 2 or 3 I've tried, it us in northwest England/Wales/Southwest Scotland area (roughly Liverpool./Manchester) and VERY small numbers in mid-late 1800s and then London area in late 1900s. The VERY few earlier references (mostly court) are to Edinburgh (a mid 1700s arrest and release), Sterling, and the northern borders area. There is a fast move south in VERY small numbers (leading some to speculate they were fleeing something). One lists the 25,000 most common names in Britain (further ones are probably mis-writes/typos) and Wages and Wagers were both at the last half of the 24,000s. Let's say it AIN"T common.

slohairt, thanks for ALL your help to SO many of us.
I called my cousin and ran it past him and he was VERY interested. ALL our family people INSIST we are Irish/Scotch-Irish/Scots, though I have NEVER seen any derivation that makes any sense. Wages is SO rare, which would be unexpected for an occupational name or laborer based name. As Mac Uais (pronounced MAC OO-ISH) is also EXTEMELY rare, and anglocised to Wage/MacWage (or maybe Wages), it JUST might have more beihind it than coincidence. About the largest cluster of Wages in the US is in Northeast Atlanta, Georgia and are virtually ALL descended from 1 man (Joel Wages, who seems to come out of nowhere) OR his brother, though I have not found much on his descendants and almost all claim Joel. THAT seems to be the largest cluster in the world and a sizable portion of ALL Wages.
Who knows, I might have "readopted" the old version of my own name by ACIDENT!!!

Thanks again,

(and I appologize to others and the moderators for my over-use of this thread).

[GlassMan]

Here is an interesting link to a surname profiler that shows the geographical distribution of surnames in two censuses of England, Scotland and Wales in the years 1881 and 1998. http://www.spatial-literacy.org/UCLnames/Surnames.aspx

I ran Wage but found nothing. There must have been at least 100 individuals with a surname in the 1998 Electoral Register for results. The profiler gave the name Wager instead. In 1881 it was most common in southeast England, near the Welsh border and in the Midlands (I think. My British geography isn't the best.)

"Latta" is shown to have been most common in 1881 a bit north of the border, around Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Of course, the only way to really know the origin of a name is through genealogical research, one generation at a time, starting with one's parents and working backward.

What a fascinating website. I pumped in the spelling my family name had when we first arrived in the United States and saw that in 1881 we'd almost all stayed in the traditional lands at the northernost extreme of Scotland.

However, by 1998 most of those with my name had marched southwards as apparently most other Scots have done. However, I noticed that we seem to not wander quite as far afield. Now one had managed to pass far past Hadrian's Wall!!!! And the vast majority were still right where their ancestors had been.

Glad to know my personal hatred of moving is a very strong familial trait. Who would have thought that a hatred of moving vans was congenital.

[turpin]

P.S. More about Campbell. Tradition holds that the semi-historical Diarmaid Ó Duibhne was the clan's founder. Ó Duibhne and Mac Duibhne would be the same name. Your ancestors would have be Maol Chaluim Mac Duibhne, Gille Easpuig Caimbeul (Archibald was used for many years as an "equivalent" to Gille Easpuig, anglicised Gillespic or Gillespie meaning "servant of the bishop") and Aoife Ni Mhic Dhuibhne.

And sure enough, the tree takes me back three more generations to Diarmid MacDuibhn, born 982 in Dumbartonshire Scotland, died about 1006 in Ireland.

[slohairt]

Dia Dhuit!

MACKERS Hmmm....Two things come to mind. 1) It could be a rough anglicisation of Mac Fhiarais (pronounced MAC EE-UR-ISH) meaning son of Fiaras. Fiaras is an Irish form of the Norman name Piers meaning Peter. 2) It could be contracted from MacKerras which was originally Mac Fhearghais (pronounced MAC ER-ISH). This means son of Fergas and, yes, it is the same name as Ferguson.

[starbkjrus]

Ok, I'll toss this one out as it has proved a bit vexing to me. My surname is Kellett; sometimes rendered as Kellet or in some of the oldest references I've seen as de Kellet.

The family traditions have always been that we are Scots and the family is quite proud of our historical connections to the Stewarts (although I can't find anyone who knows exactly WHAT those connections are :rolleyes: Other than marriage anyway.). I WILL say that the first son in each generation since Culloden is named Charles. Before that time it more ran to Joseph or Talmadge or James. My branch of the family seems to have arrived here in the early to mid 1700's.

The "bucket shops" on the net seem to all agree that the family originates in Lancashire, England (in the 12th century) and there are two villages east of Lancaster named Over Kellet and Nether Kellet. (According to one of the village's websites "kellet" means spring or stream in northern England.) Don't know much about the history in that area but hope to so some sleuthing in person next year.

So, the family says we are Scots and in District Tartans there is a reference to Kellet as a Scottish surname that should wear the Tyneside (Englsih) district tartan. What were we doing in England?

Sorry,

Any clue on the surname?