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General => The Common Room => The Lighter Side => Topic started by: wileman 121 on Tuesday 19 June 07 09:28 BST (UK)
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hi i just found the post about the 100 most common surnames but i think that the uncommon ones are the best :) here are some of mine
me Wileman
grandfather Emmingham
gt grandmother Marr
x8 gt grandmother Codlin
x4 gt grandma Ogley
x5 gt grandma Kemshall
x5 gt grandad Ducker
grandma Moreton
gt grandma Gilliver
x2 gt grandma Cureton
gt grandma Predstidge
x3 gt grandma Salisbury
x5 gt grandma Soammes
x4 gt grandfather ( Ephraim Follis)
thats just a few imagine researching some of them names ;)
Wileman121
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Thats pretty good !
I can offer Osgathorpe and Gowenlock ......
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Dolby and Varnden
The best though Sallybank
Bob
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Mine would have to be TRAMPLEASURE.
Variations include Tramplara, Templaria etc. It only appears in my tree in the late 17th/early 18th century around Redruth in Cornwall.
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my own ;)
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I have
Osmotherley
Cossar
Langcake
Grindrod
Hewerdine
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Ah don't they make life so much easier??
I think mine would have to be Lillystone.
I've also got some Heavens. Not too common and such a lovely name!
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Hi,
my one offering my grandfather - Wojciechowskyj
he was from the Ukraine
i'm not sure if this is all that uncommon - Punnett my maternal great grandmother
trouble is you think oh what a great name then look it up on the census and there are literally hundreds of them!
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Lots of one off names, but none of them particularly unusual.
However I do have a small group with the surname Gawkrodger
and they all seem to hail from Bermondsey.
But then again the name gets 58,000 hits on Google!
Peter.
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My rarest are Bracewell, Godbold, Couburn, Cowburn, de Valoines, de Normandie (the last two arent surnames in the modern sense of the word, though), Hulks, Knottage, Mackreth, Moxham, Snailom, Unckle and Waringe.
- Stephen :)
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My most unusual is BISHOPP.
My ggAunt married Ishmael Norrington T Bishopp, which is the best first name/ surname combination in my tree. I don't know if this name is still about, but I imagine they must have got fed up saying, when asked their surname, "that's Bishopp with two Ps"
Betty
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I have the following quite close surnames which are closely related:
maxfield - grandma
Lovas - step grandad (supposeably hungarian name but i think it was changed when he fled Hungary in 2nd world war)
Pleasance - 2x great grandma
Tissington - 2x great grandma (from the village in derbyshire)
Grubham 2x great grandad sister in law!
Bransley 3x great grandma
and then some less close ones:
melling
Applebee
parratt
Glue
In fact i have to say that most of my names i would class as quite rare - aprt from my mums maiden name is Williams!
Alison
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De Banke ... I've lost John and Sarah De Banke's lads in Exeter as well as their two girls who I found married in Belfast. The girls appear to have vanished. My mum's youngest sister had De Banke as a forename. We wondered where the name originated for many years. I found John and Sarah in Derbyshire prior to their move to Exeter.
There's a Blackett knocking around too ... I haven't been able to make a connection to any Blackett family to date.
How people from Co. Antrim end up with people named Gunderson from Norway, and De Bankes and Blacketts from where ever is totally beyond me.
Christopher
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Totally uncommon; a bit like Tigger, the wonderful, (not really), thing about Grothenwell is he was the only one, (apart from three daughters). That I can find anyway :-\
Grothenwell ;)
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Mine would have to be Mayoss. Try searching for that on the 1881 Census and you'll see what I mean. The name is so uncommon that it was incorrectly recorded in a variety of contemporary records, and modern transcribers have made it a real challenge to find the blighters when the name was correctly recorded. To add insult to injury, my gg-grandfather decided to call himself Mears. So did his brother. ::)
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Olieslaeger
So far i have found 60 alternative spellings :o
Drives me nuts.
Kez :)
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I have many surnames in my tree including:
Buttrum, Bugg, Catchpole, Cheffings, Cocksedge, Crabtree, Diaper, Hunniball, Mudd, Proudfoot, Soans, Squirrell, Truepenny, Turtle, Waterfall, Woodcock, Wink and Wormell.
Soans and Wormell are of particular interest as I know very little about them and they are direct line.
I recently looked through all the names in both mine and my husbands trees. We both have lots of 'creatures' and my husband has Marsh, Fields and Forrest to keep them in plus a Shepherd to look after them. I have Dykes, Hills, Woods and a Waterfall to keep mine plus a Shepherd and a Butcher to look after them!!!!!!!
Lynnck
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I have got a
Rizbreger, however it may be a bad spelling of Risbridger
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I have Impey and Cato.
Beverley
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You can find out about the (recent) frequency of surnames at this site http://www.taliesin-arlein.net/names/search.php
My rarest is Bransden
JULIAN
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Surname Count Ranking
BIRKHEAD 415 =13031
SCHORAH 354 =14618
TATTERSFIELD 336 =15152
WOODIN 183 =22585
VALANCE 15 =109436
CONINOR isn't on there
CRAMMACK isn't on there
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I have Brothill and variants, Brothele, Brothelle etc.
I have been told it is an occupational surname, but so far, they have mostly been shopkeepers
Bumbelina
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I have Wingod which doesn't feature in the ONS database. I also have Folder ( 27 instances, rank =74851) which is a big problem to search for. Archives are full of "folders"!
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According to the Taleisin Arlein site -
COWBURN 1292 =5368
MOXHAM 1220 =5635
GODBOLD 1205 =5698
BRACEWELL 1077 =6258
HULKS 222 =19936
MACKRETH 77 =39021
no records for Couburn, Knottage, Snailom (although Snailham got 359), Unckle or Waringe.
Stephen :)
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I don't know if this counts as uncommon because researching them has been a pain. I have had considerable trouble with the surname Poulsum. I never know what they're going to turn up as next!
Some I have had are Poulsom, Polsum Poulsen, Polsom, Poulsen and Poulsam
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I have Schmieg, which I don't think was/is too common, hailing from Germany originally. And Kochersberger, from Alsace, which started as Guggisberg and got twisted into the new name. I also have an ancestor who married a Monkmeyer. And although Heintz isn't too unusual an Alsatian name, my ggg grandfather's first name was Marzolf, which is a common surname but not common forename.
And I just checked the above link and found my Mickelwright ranks number 143,714
Kath
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My least common name is McGlinchey (from Ireland).
My husband's great-grandmother's surname was Salisbury. I think there used to be lots of them around Lancashire but maybe it just felt that way when I was trying to find her in the census! ;)
Regards,
Josephine
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The site only seems to include surnames with over 5 appearances, so any that don't appear may be rarer, or perhaps just not included.
Andrew
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I've only two- Box + (H) Incher (tried googling this one-
oh lordy!)
Jackie.
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Think old names were bad
Look at this
http://www.theregister.com/2007/06/21/4real_kerfuffle/
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Think old names were bad
Look at this
http://www.theregister.com/2007/06/21/4real_kerfuffle/
Good spot, Stonechat ;D
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my one the surname staulkey
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Denchfield/Deanchfield
Caponhurst
Purchas
They don't make names like that any more.
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I'm a bit bemused as I've just come across a name that I think might possibly be an error, but then again I'm not so sure.
I looked up a 1914 marriage on FREEBMD to find the lady in question had married someone called BACKLOG. As his name was not on the page index, I thought maybe it was just some transcribers note but when I checked the index page on Ancestry there is someone listed as George A Backlog who apparently married the lady in question.
However, he doesn't ever seem to have been born and neither does Martha Backlog who also got married, BUT there are two Backlogs whose births AND marriages are listed (but no earlier listings as would be needed for them to have parents of that name!!!) ??? >:( ???
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I have Hemswell, which doesn't sound that unusual but my GG Grandad was the only one on the 1901 census! It was usually mistranscribed/misheard as Hemsley.
Mohun/Mohan, Taylerson and Foggin :D
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Ooops, just realised I was only looking at Staffordshire.
There seem to be quite a few Backlogs, just not many at all in Staffs. It seems George A may have come from Atcham! :-[
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Mine are SHOVE and OUNSTED (both U.K.)
The SHOVEs are fairly easy to research-it's the transcription errors that drive me mad. :) Good old Harry SHOVE shows up on the 1901 online as Flurry SHONE. ::)
And the OUNSTEDs?? Anybody else out there??
Maureen
born a SMITH so pretty much anything is uncommon to me :) :)
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i have UNSTEAD's i wonder if they are related to your OUNSTED?
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I have Nipperess, Gaukrodger, Bintcliffe, Spittle, Berkshire, Tegg, Millinchip. It doesn't always make it easier to find them!
Anne
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Well I have g/g/g/granny born in Scotland as Martha Selfridge, arrived in New South Wales as a young girl and the Aussies turned her into a Sefferidge!! Not too many Sefferidges/Seffridges floating around!
I wonder how they changed it??? - must have been a terrible accent!
Scrappyshaz
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Wish I had more uncommon one's , Le Gros Martin tends to be a bit of a devil , but having LANES as a surname is mind blowing , no point in putting it in a search engine, Eilleen.
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...... but having LANES as a surname is mind blowing , no point in putting it in a search engine, Eilleen.
I know what you mean. I have similar problems with Pond ::)
Thank god Street is not in my family
JULIAN
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Think that is bad , try googling cock or cocks
Bob
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Um.....no thanks :D
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I have Leahair (Huguenot Origins), Palfreyman, Whitrow, Shutlar and Syrett .
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Today I added Ong.
Lynnck
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The most unusual ones on mine are Catterall, Chisnall, Christian, Glazebrook, Goose, Jarrard (derivative of Gerrard), Lambourne, Sellenger and Wharf...not as unusal as some folks have posted, but unusual to a tree that's populated on the whole with some fairly run of the mill names... :)
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Mine are
Ilett
Pharo
Brinsley
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Surname Count Ranking
HYWOOD 26 =76659
urname Count Ranking
FAUTLEY 233 =19323
Fowtrell not on list
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To Prue M, I notice you have the surname MORRISH (Ldn) on your list, so do I. Moors
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just looked and I have :
the surname Ghersinich, and Tiggerdene 1980' so not puting full name
Traill Goar
Barbara Groat
James Delick Stewart
James Inrig
Ann Kirkness
Sally Moar
Isoble Orkney
Allan Paplay
Mary Swaney
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My Most Uncommon Name is my own :o... COLGAN
It's not as amusing as some in this thread but I'm the only one on this site :'( , I think it's because we were not prolific :D.
jc
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I have the surnames:
Popham: Count = 948, Ranking = 6907
Golild: Not on Site
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I have TRIGGER, count = 340 ranking =15030
Betty
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Silly question. What is the address of this site that ranks surnames?
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This gives the rankings -
http://www.taliesin-arlein.net/names/search.php
This gives more details on surnames-
http://www.britishsurnames.co.uk/
Betty
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Thanks ;D
POULSUM 11 =134717
BEACHUS 78 =38693
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Oh goody, I'd lost that one, in the great crash...
Thanks Betty, forgotten it even existed.
Denchfield 103...32540
Caponhurst...no records.........
now why am I not surprised at that one :D
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I have MABBLE - only 2 on the FreeBMD as of the last time I checked, about 3 on Familysearch.org, and no sign of my Louise in 1841 or 1851 - goodness knows what they've mistranscribed her as!
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im laughing it says on the british surnames and surname profiles im a genuine rarity and i should try to breed to avoid the name becoming extinct
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Galgrove, sometimes Galgrave from Essex, both rarer than hens teeth.
Carole
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im laughing it says on the british surnames and surname profiles im a genuine rarity and i should try to breed to avoid the name becoming extinct
So you'll be busy for a while then Harry? :o
I have Firnkorn and Rapkin in my tree,and a friend of mine has Urling and Barleycorn.
At least if we find one,we know it's one of ours ;D
Carol
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Hello All,
I have both Smith and Jones in my tree. And, I have hit brick walls with them both. ::)
Kojack ;D
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OH! I just realised it said 'uncommon' LOL
Sorry!
Kojack ;D
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That's OK Kojack ! We all make mistakes !
Welcome to Rootschat ... we are a helpful bunch, and there is always someone around who can offer you help with family history problems ...
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Waldron (or Waldren) and Huggett
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Amor in later generations becoming Amer
Wolfenden,Pyett,Bodger.
All from my Grandfathers side and the easiest side to trace.
Welsh Lady
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I have a few uncommon surnames
Horseman
Laband
Perraton
Bant
Amor
Liggins
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Seems to me that if Welsh Lady and Treebuster both have Amor, they ought to get together !!
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
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Mine would have to be TRAMPLEASURE.
Variations include Tramplara, Templaria etc. It only appears in my tree in the late 17th/early 18th century around Redruth in Cornwall.
Hi PrueM,
I realize your post in very old, but your home page says not to PM you, so here's my comment :-)
My last name is Trampleasure. I would love to connect with you about the family name (also have the variations you mention). I have my tree on Ancestry.com.
Have you seen the 19th century novel (https://books.google.com/books?id=ESEWAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=%22tramplara%22&source=bl&ots=q-VoXVu3gf&sig=ACfU3U0keRPNEcJqrkt06Gi4irbRy-2Cfg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiLgMTL5tzgAhWyHDQIHXMIDIUQ6AEwBXoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22tramplara%22&f=false)with the Tramplara -> Trampleasure name change in it?
If you want to reach me, my email address is my first name (Lee) @ my last name dot net.
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Julnes (Norfolk and Sunderland) and Musther (Yorkshire)....both OH family connections, and Greenstock on my side.
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Mine would have to be TRAMPLEASURE.
Variations include Tramplara, Templaria etc. It only appears in my tree in the late 17th/early 18th century around Redruth in Cornwall.
Hi PrueM,
I realize your post in very old, but your home page says not to PM you, so here's my comment :-)
My last name is Trampleasure. I would love to connect with you about the family name (also have the variations you mention). I have my tree on Ancestry.com.
Have you seen the 19th century novel (https://books.google.com/books?id=ESEWAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=%22tramplara%22&source=bl&ots=q-VoXVu3gf&sig=ACfU3U0keRPNEcJqrkt06Gi4irbRy-2Cfg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiLgMTL5tzgAhWyHDQIHXMIDIUQ6AEwBXoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22tramplara%22&f=false)with the Tramplara -> Trampleasure name change in it?
If you want to reach me, my email address is my first name (Lee) @ my last name dot net.
Her home page says she was last on the site in 2013, so on that basis I would say you are unlikely to hear from her.
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My uncommon ones are
targoose 0 which eventually became Targus 0
Sollory 18
Tanser 200
Mallison 290
Kidger 357
the variation in spelling doesn.t help.
Liz
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Mine are:
Coveyduck
Noseworthy
Carol
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I have a couple with the surname Twelftree. One was a publican and I can just imagine an inebriated person trying to say that!
Jackie
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I have an ancestor's sibling who wed a man with the surname Puddephatt.
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I play poker with a Cakebread
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Her home page says she was last on the site in 2013, so on that basis I would say you are unlikely to hear from her.
Thanks for pointing this out to me. I'm new on this board and didn't think to look that up :-)
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Noseworthy
Carol, I have a Noseworthy (Canadian) although not direct line.
Annie
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I have the following in my two trees:-
Surname Count Ranking
BORASTON 153 =25297
BURRASTON 60 =45461
GENNER 346 =14845
ALKER 913 =7118
PASSEY 1328 =5243
KYNASTON 1249 =5523
MELLING 3730 2148
The Boraston/Burraston and other variations total less than 2000 people in the 1841-1911 England & Wales census.
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The uncommon surnames aren't the problem for me, it's the common ones that are a pain in the neck to disentangle!
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One of my research names is Loughborough, and I have over 30 different spellings of it. The main problem with the name is that anything I search for seems to find places related to the town. My 2 most unusual variants are Loveburrow and Lickbarrow.
They do conjuror vivid images.
Martin
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Sallybank/Sallabank
Sheepwash
Johncock
Goodgroom
Wildgoose
I also have a distant female cousin who emigrated to Utah and married a man with the surname Hickenlooper.
Bev
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Often the rare surnames seem to have many variants.
I have a Teagoe in my tree and it has a number of variants.
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Noseworthy
Carol, I have a Noseworthy (Canadian) although not direct line.
Annie
Mine are St. John's Nfld. Also not a direct line. ;D
Carol
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Martin, if you think you have problems searching Loughborough, you should try Pine in a search engine. When searching the historical directories site, I would get every parish that had pine pews in their churches, and anything else made of pine. ::)
I agree that sometimes the rarer surnames have the more extreme variants. I'm not sure if that's due to uncertainty over spelling.
And as for surnames, you should try Swedish research; the surname changes with every generation with their patronymic surnames.
Dowdeswell, Sando, and Kempster are three rarer names in my direct lines.
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I have Dumper (England, though not a direct line) and Tosheosh (Scotland)
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Wildgoose
I have Wildgoose on the fringes of my tree. There's a website dedicated to the name:
http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~willgooseweb/genealogy/
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FREAK and variants. Free BMD starts the name off in Bethnal Green, London in September 1837. It gets into Weardale County Durham in 1845 with an Ann Freak and it stays in County Durham and links up with me there.
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Noseworthy
Carol, I have a Noseworthy (Canadian) although not direct line.
Mine are St. John's Nfld. Also not a direct line. ;D
Small world indeed!
My 2nd cousin (still alive) born Scarborough, Toronto & his father b c1911 Newfoundland but died Scarborough i.e. if you think there may be a connection feel free to PM me for details.
Noseworthy is the 'marry-in' in my family hence only having the father who married my fathers' 1st cousin & their son with no descendants I know of.
Annie
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FREAK and variants. Free BMD starts the name off in Bethnal Green, London in September 1837. It gets into Weardale County Durham in 1845 with an Ann Freak and it stays in County Durham and links up with me there.
The name Freke is from the West Country I believe. A collateral ancestor of mine was Henry Freke Palmer.
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I have surname Blackbird on mine. I think they mainly from Durham area
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I have two -
HERWEG - German from Woltwiesche near Braunschweig. Meaning - "near the military road".
PATILLO - sounds Italian but its Scottish derived from PITTILLOCK and has a large number of forms - Pattillo, Pitello, Pattillow etc. Large numbers in and around Perthshire.
Cheers
Jack Gee
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Wemyss of that Ilk (The first one made up the name so I guess we'd all be related, Scotland)
Glessel (German or something?? but living in England)
Flucker (bad spelling for Flockhart?? Scotland)
Grandistone (I have no idea, Scotland, can't even google the origins)
Posse (Swan Posse after a scandal, England. Can't really hide if your surname was Posse)
Brownrigg (thought it was a made up surname but no, actually existed, England)
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"Flucker (bad spelling for Flockhart?? Scotland)"
I know of Fleuchar (Perthshire)...If you use Fl**ch*r* & Floc*ar* (wild cards allowed) option it will bring a few variants up
"Grandistone"
I know of Grandison (Fife)...use Gran*s*n* for variants
Leave areas out for full coverage of both
Annie
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Blacksell -769,286th Most Common Surname Approximately 367 people bear this surname
Hatherell/Hatherall - 717,078th Most Common Surname Approximately 404people bear this surname
Corbell - 237,862nd Most Common Surname Approximately 1,675 people bear this surname
Gibbins - 63,365th Most Common Surname Approximately 8,010 people bear this surname
Inwood - 119,099th Most Common Surname Approximately 3,863 people bear this surname
Clayfield - 437,371st Most Common Surname Approximately 778 people bear this surname
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I forgot my Fright family ;D
And at one time I thought I had an Elizabeth Hooker in my tree (wrongly, as it turned out). Try looking that up on Google ;D ;D
Bev
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Distance
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Eatough/Aitalgh/Etock and other spellings, Lancs
Elsegood Norfolk
Kingma, Geldmaker, Oosterhoorn van Weerdenburgh and many others
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Back to the Hookers.
Joseph Hooker (1814-1879) was a career U.S. military officer who served as a major general and commander of the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War (1861-65).
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Snowball -
Originally Northumberland, Durham and Yorkshire.
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I play poker with a Cakebread
LOL David, I play poker with a pack of cards and a few friends! 😜
(Sorry, couldn't help myself)
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It's not in my tree, but an unusual surname I came across yesterday: Whalesbrew.
It comes from Whalesborough, Cornwall.
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"Flucker (bad spelling for Flockhart?? Scotland)"
I know of Fleuchar (Perthshire)...If you use Fl**ch*r* & Floc*ar* (wild cards allowed) option it will bring a few variants up
"Grandistone"
I know of Grandison (Fife)...use Gran*s*n* for variants
Leave areas out for full coverage of both
Annie
Fleuchar, maybe Fletcher??
Grandison: "Grandison Name Meaning. English and Scottish: said to be a habitational name from Granson on Lake Neuchâtel. The first known bearer of the surname is Rigaldus de Grancione (fl. 1040)" from Savoy?? https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=grandison
Certainly found Flemish and French names in my family tree so maybe people from Savoy too
Thankyou for the different take on those names
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I have quite a few unusual names; Bearecroft, Tulips, McCorgray, Kleeman, Bankier, Lewars, Denoon, Rowat and Longcroft.
For McCorgray and Longcroft every single one I have found is related to a common ancestor. I suspect that Kleeman may be more common in Germany.
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How about Puffett (Oxfordshire) and Harness (Yorkshire/Lincolnshire)
sre
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Seeing Snowball reminded me of the surname Snoswell I have as well.
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I play poker with a Cakebread
LOL David, I play poker with a pack of cards and a few friends! 😜
(Sorry, couldn't help myself)
:D
Now I am going to think of shuffling a loaf of bread slices
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;D ;D And I'll be juggling an uncut loaf!! ;D
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With my own surname ranking 266,416th, I've never thought about it! ;D
I also have:
Warbutton (my 1st Mother-in-law's maiden name) - 2,089,038th.
Twinney - 1,547,395th.
Morl - 1,091,827th
But the most uncommon must be Grace Makepowder.
That surname isn't ranked (Forebears.io)
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I have the name Cock in one branch of my tree and one of my Cock ancestors married a Brocksopp.
Some of my Cock distant cousins changed their name, one lot changed to Brunswick and another lot changed to Clayton - much more respectable I suppose 😁.
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Oh My Cock ancestors became Cocks over a period
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Oh My Cock ancestors became Cocks over a period
Some of mine occasionally appear in documents as Cocks, also Cox, and it's sometimes mistranscribed as Cook. I expect you've found the same, it's one of those frustrating names with several variants.
If yours have connections to Putney, or Winkfield in Berkshire, we might be related ☺.
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Oh I have lots of connections with Winkfield, but completely different part of my tree, Rev George Boyce was curate and schoolmaster, he lived 1743-1824, and some of his ancestors there. But my Cock/Cocks were CHESHIRE/Lancs borders
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A distant relative of mine in America married a Mr Frankenstein :o
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A distant relative of mine in America married a Mr Frankenstein :o
One of mine married a Jekyll. Not a doctor, thankfully.
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I`ve just discovered a Raisbeck. Google seems to think it originates from Cumbria, but my find is in Lincolnshire.
I also have an Hansword in Lincolnshire.
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Not in my tree, by I have a friend whose married name is Hiscock. And my Mum and Dad had friends named Hercock!
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Not in my tree, by I have a friend whose married name is Hiscock. And my Mum and Dad had friends named Hercock!
Adds a whole new perspective on his and hers. ;D
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If a Hiscock married a Hercock, would their married name be hyphenated or would they change it to Theircock? ???
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Depending on where the name is in the sentence; Theircock, or Theycock, or perhaps even Themcock.
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;D ;D ;D
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Hla, Ough, Balzary and Fucks
merlfitz
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ZEKIEL - likely variants so far include ZEYKYL, ZEKAL, EZIKIEL, SAKEL, SEAKLE, SEAKEL, SEAKELL, and SEACOLE.
Carol