Origins/Surnames

[DapperJack]

We all know Britain is made up of people with many different origins.
What I wan't to know is where are your ancestors from? And you can tell me your surname as well if it has any relevance.
Embarrassingly I don't really know about mine, my surname is Pell, apparently that's Viking, suppose that'll have to do. neutral  

[Invictus_88]

Surnames aren't necessarily relevant as they only denote your relationship to one ancestor, one's paternal nth great grandfather.

As an indicator of my family background, my surname is actually quite misleading.  

[Caerthakatha]

My surname says a lot about my ancestry. Dad's side of the family is all Irish
and Mum's side is Scottish. I think I looked back on my family tree when we
had a family reunion, and it turns out that all our ancestors from around 1600
were shoemakers in Ireland.

 

[DapperJack]

Caerthakatha

My surname says a lot about my ancestry. Dad's side of the family is all Irish
and Mum's side is Scottish. I think I looked back on my family tree when we
had a family reunion, and it turns out that all our ancestors from around 1600
were shoemakers in Ireland.

Shoemakers? Your Irish ancestors actually earned an honest living? xd  

[Caerthakatha]

xGOLDBRANDx

Caerthakatha

My surname says a lot about my ancestry. Dad's side of the family is all Irish
and Mum's side is Scottish. I think I looked back on my family tree when we
had a family reunion, and it turns out that all our ancestors from around 1600
were shoemakers in Ireland.

Shoemakers? Your Irish ancestors actually earned an honest living? xd

Apparently so. xD
It came as quite a shock to the whole family.

 

[Days of Empire]

Proving the point about surnames being misleading, my surname is Welsh - extremely Welsh, in fact. But the link to Wales is from so far back no-one even knows what it is, so it's pretty negligible.  

[DapperJack]

Pell isn't Viking. I found out it relates back to Fur and pelt traders in the middle ages. So my name tells me what my ancestors did, but not where they came from.  

[Invictus_88]

Apparently mine came over with William the Conqueror. A 'distinction' shared with, er, absolutely loads of people.  

[Sir_Catherine]

While I'm not British, I'll share my personal joke that my ancestry is "at war with itself". I'm primarily German, English, Irish and French. xd  

[g0th_chick_uk]

my surname is Bailey, and luckily enough i love baileys mmm cheese_whine  

[Ominelle]

My surname is Morgan. Like Erix Griffon, my surname is extremely Welsh. In fact, my entire name is extremely Welsh, but then my father's from Gwent, so it makes more sense with me.  

[iScrewe]

Apparently from what I've gathered, my surname, Reid is of a Scottish origin which could be traced to the Old English expression, read, meaning red for someone of red hair or a ruddy complexion.
Now I have to say, it's quite creative just adding the 'i' to it no? biggrin  

[Mulcroft]

I'm a McLeod. We're descent from old Clans in the Isles of Skye and Lewis, but more recent ancestors of mine have lived in Glasgow. It's incredible how far back you can go. emotion_awesome  

[DudeIsGenderNeutral]

I'm not British, but my surname is quite well-known thanks to one of Britain's favorite beverages XD I'm told it's true origins are Welsh. I honostly had no idea Tetley was a Welsh name. Apparantly both sides of my family came to America for their "Health". My Dad's side were sheep thieves and my Mum's were horse thieves.  

[Rennie`]

My surname Creighton (cry-ton) originates from Scotland and after doing some rough research on my family tree both my material and paternal side originates from Scotland one way or another. My ancestors were probably the true British people before the Anglo-Saxon and Norman invasions.