A Dictionary of Surnames

Download or read book A Dictionary of Surnames written by Patrick Hanks and published by Oxford [England] ; New York : Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1988 with total page 896 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A survey of nearly 70,000 common surnames and many other rarer ones in the English speaking world that are of European derivation, including names of North and South America, Australasia, Southern Africa and other parts of the world where surnames are of European origin. Each entry gives information about the language or region in which the surname orginated and the derivation or original meaning; lists any variant diminutives, and other derivative names, as well as cognate names in other languages; notes pecularities of regional distribution; and briefly, family history about early bearers. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR