A Dictionary of English Surnames (Oxford Paperback Reference)

See Larger Image	List Price: $16.35 Our Price: $16.35 Availability: Usually ships in 2 to 4 weeks Manufacturer: Oxford University Press Written By: Percy H. Reaney Average Customer Rating:


Binding: Paperback EAN: 9780192806635 ISBN: 0192806637 Label: Oxford University Press Manufacturer: Oxford University Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 520 Publication Date: 2005-01 Publisher: Oxford University Press Studio: Oxford University Press
Related Items A Dictionary of First Names (Oxford Paperback Reference) The Surnames of Ireland A Dictionary of British Place-Names (Oxford Paperback Reference) The Name Book: Over 10,000 Names, Their Meanings, Origins, and Spritual Significance A Dictionary of English Place-Names (Oxford Paperback Reference)
Editorial Reviews: Did you know that Batts, may have had stout ancestors? That Dennes could be descended from swineherds? That Herons might come from thin men with long legs? How much do you know about the origin of your own surname? This fascinating dictionary covers the origin and meaning of over 16,000 surnames, giving detailed information on early name-forms and how names have changed over the centuries. Alternative forms of names are cross-referenced to make it easy to find variants. Popular names such as Brown, Clark and Smith are all covered, alongside rarer names from Clapper to Cutterbuck, Stocking to Twitchen. An authoritative introduction sets in context the popular topic of name-studies, and guides the reader through the history of English surnames. The dictionary also includes an appendix in which the distinguished family historian, Professor David Hey (author of the Oxford Companion to Local and Family History) gives advice on how to locate the home of a family name. He explains, with examples, how to discover the current distribution of a name in the UK, and how to trace its origins. Quirky and interesting, informative and accessible, this is an excellent guide for anyone with an interest in English family names.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: The Oxford Dictionary of Minimal Information? Comment: Yes, this was quite disappointing. No serious etymology, no deep origins, no accounting for names that appear to be variants of English surnames yet are not included, i.e., there is a Houston but no Huston. Really? What a narrow net the editors cast! A waste of shelf space. Customer Rating: Summary: Another English Chap Comment: After buying this book with great expectations I was very disappointed. Out of curiosity I thought I would check the reviews which may have been left for it. I was astonished to see how highly others had rated it. (They can't all be related to the author or the publisher!). I don't normally feel inclined to criticise other people's work but this book left me feeling very disatisfied. I know it is a dictionary but I wanted more plain language explanation not just a string of technical jargon after each entry. I found the introduction especially tedious and difficult to make sense of. Apart from the fairly obvious divisions (local, occupational etc.) the rest of it is also very technical and really not readily understood by a layman. Even the explanations of the abbreviations were obtuse. It seemed that some discussion of the source material would have been informative. As it was I was left feeling totally in the dark. It is clearly a scholarly work and probably useful to academia but I doubt that the average man on the street would get much use out of it. Sorry! Customer Rating: Summary: Indispensable if needed for research Comment: Obviously someone who wishes to give a first name to a child is not the most likely person to consult this very learned tome: for those people P. Hanks and F. Hodges's Dictionary of First Names (also published by Oxford) is the appropriate book (though David Pickering's Penguin Dictionary of First Names is also very good). Obviously, if the first name you have in mind is also a surname, then this reference tool, too, is likely to be useful. The amount of work that has gone into this volume is daunting, particularly when it comes to the mention of early sources in which names have been found. Some of that material is perhaps more of interest to the specialist than the general user, but in any case it is valuable. The Introduction, on names generally, is extremely informative and interesting. For myself, I most often need to know what a surname might mean (most of them do have meaning), and I suspect that this is what others, too, frequently want to know. For example, are those many Australians who have the surname Smyth in effect carrying the surname Smith? Yes, indeed: the y is merely a spelling variant, which many welcome because it suggests a name other than Smith (though quite a few people called Smyth don't themselves know that Smyth= Smith!). Does this dictionary reveal what one wants to know? It does, but not always in the handiest way possible. It has an entry Smye, Smythe, but not one for Smyth: one needs to know something about the early stages of the language to realise that if Smythe is an early form of Smith, then so is Smyth likely to be, and if one then turns to Smith one will find Smyth there. So not everyone will necessarily immediately discover the material searched for - but most people are likely to do so eventually. All in all , I recommend the book heartily, and use it often. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University (South Australia) Customer Rating: Summary: Fascinating and well-documented Comment: The Dictionary of English Surnames is wonderful -- tons of information about surnames both common and rare, with many dated examples of early spellings. Sources are always given. This is an excellent resource for anyone interested in the origin of English surnames, especially re-enactors and others interested in names that would have existed in the late medieval/Renaissance period. Since the examples are dated, it is easy to find names from a particular time. Customer Rating: Summary: Marvelous Source! Comment: Dictionary of English Surnames is a very complete book that lists many many English Surnames, and it tells of certain ancestors of the name and where they came from, and what the surname means. It is a very helpful resource for amateur geneologists, or just someone fascinated by the Last Name. THe beginning of the books tells about Surnames and how they came to be etc etc. It is very fascinating and the authors do a very good job at explaining things. Great source...get it! More Reviews