A History of Surnames

Pinterest Origin: Greek, Old English, Germanic Meaning: Sanders was originally a patrynomic surname meaning "son of Sander", originally given to someone who's father was named Sander or Alexander "defender of men" or "defending man". Sanders could also be derived from a place name in English, a village called Sanderstad , meaning "house on a sandy land". It's also an occupational surname referring to someone who worked with sand either for agriculture or construction. It comes from the Germanic word for sand. Variants : Saunders Sanderson Sandar Sandars

Pinterest Origin: Ancient Greek Meaning: Monk is an English surname that comes from Late Latin monachus from Ancient Greek monakhos meaning "single, solitary" from monos (alone). It was either an occupational surname for a servant who worked at a monastery, or had originally been given as a nickname to someone who had similar habits as a monk.

Pinterest Origin: Greek Meaning: Partridge is an English surname which comes via Old French perdriz, derived from Latin perdix, perdicus  meaning "partridge" in reference to the bird. It likely comes from Greek   pérdomai which means "to break wind, to fart" from Proto-Indo-European root word *perd (to fart, break wind). According to Greek myth, the partridge first came into existence when the famous craftsman Daedalus (of the Minotaur fame) threw his nephew off a hill, jealous of his talents and skills. However, Perdix was saved by the goddess Athena, who turned him into a partridge.