A History of Surnames

Adair comes from a Scottish surname, the Scottish form of personal given name Edgar meaning "wealthy spear" from Old English elements ead (wealth, fortune) and gar (spear). Adair has also been used as a given name. Origin: Old English Pinterest Variants : Adaire 

Marwood is an English surname derived from the name of a settlement, possibly meaning "boundary wood" from Old English mere/ mǣre (boundary, limit)   and wood (wood). Another possible origin for Marwood is that it may have originated as a nickname for someone believed to have the power of casting the evil eye, coming from an Old French word meaning "evil look. Origin: Old English, Old French Pinterest Variants : Morwood  Marward  Merewood Merwood Marewood

Pinterest Holmes is an English surname with several possible origins: it be be derived from Old English holegn meaning "holly", referring to someone who lived near  some holly trees, though it may also likely refer to the holly oak; it may also come from Middle English holm meaning "island", derived from Old Norse holmr (island); I've also seen it listed as possibly being derived form haugum, derived from Old Norse haugr meaning "high hill, mound"; it may also be an anglicized form of Gaelic surname  Mac Thomáis, meaning "son of Thom" Origin: Old English, Old Norse, Gaelic  Variants : Holme  Hulme  Holms 

Pinterest Whitaker is an English surname deriving from a place name made of up of Old English elements hwit (white) and   æcer (cultivated land, field), meaning "white field" though spelled  Whiteacre it means "wheat field", the first part derived from Old English  hwǣte (wheat). Origin: Old English Variants : Whittaker  Whitacre  Whittakers  Whiteacre  Witacre 

Pinterest Origin: Old English Meaning: Yates is an English surname, the plural form of Yate which comes from Old English geat meaning "gate", a topographical name for someone who lived near the gates of a walled city or an occupationl name for someone who was a gatekeeper. It could also have been used as a locational surname referring to someone who came from a town called Yate/Yates .

Pinterest Origin: Old English, Norman French Meaning: Lovecraft is an English surname combined with two English elements; the first part of the name is made up of either Old English personal name Lufu or Lufa meaning "love", or from the Norman French louve meaning "female wolf"; while the second part of the name could be derived from Old English craeft meaning "craft, skill".

Pinterest Origin: English Meaning: Birmingham is the name of a city in England, coming from   Beornmundingaham  meaning "homestead of the people of Beornmund", Beornmund being a given name meaning "young man, warrior + protection". Variants : Bermingham 

Origin: Old English Meaning: Cranston is a Scottish surname derived from a place name. It's made up from Old English cran (crane) and tun (settlement) meaning "crane's settlement".

Pinterest Origin: Old English Meaning: Fowler was originally an occupational surname for a bird catcher or someone who hunted wild birds. It comes from Old English fugelere derived from fugol meaning "bird".

Pinterest Origin: English Meaning: Matlock is a surname derived from a place name meaning "meeting oak-place" from Old English maethel (meeting, gathering place) and ac (oak) in reference to a place where a council or meeting was being held.

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

Origin: English Meaning: Gore is an English surname which comes from Old English word gara meaning "a triangular plot of land". It's also an English word referring to blood that is shed, or something with too much bloodshed or violence; as a verb it refers to piercing through something. It's related to Old English gar meaning "spear". Pinterest

Pinterest Origin: Old English Meaning: Rutherford comes from a place in Scotland called Rutherford, indicating someone who was originally from there. It comes from Old English hry đer (cattle) and ford (ford)  meaning "cattle ford". Rutherford can also be used as given name, such as Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States.

Pinterest Origin: Old English Meaning: Brewster is an occupational surname meaning "brewer of beer" or "brewer of ale", referring to someone who made and distilled beer for a living. Apparently the -ster suffix was used to refer to a woman's occupation and Brewer would have been the male form of the name used to indicate a male brewer, though somewhere down the line Brewster became popular for both sexes. The surname comes from Old English breowan meaning "to  brew" or "to distill". Variants : Brewer  Breuestere  Brewester  Broster  Brostar  Brouster