Searching Out Surname Meanings
Perhaps, as you've traced your family tree, you've said, "Just how many John Smiths can live in this county at one time?!?" And you long for the date when middle names became more common, because perhaps you could more easily trace John Jingleheimer Smith, or even John Jacob Smith.
But think back to the days when the name was simply John! Of course, you say, there weren't so many people then, so it was easier. Perhaps. But not when John has a brother also named John, or three siblings have the same name. (I discovered both in my pre-surname ancestry.)
As the population of a region increased, too many "Johns" finally led to phrases that distinguished one John from another. Such as John's son, which became Johnson. Or John, son of the Scotsman Donald - John MacDonald. Or John, son of the Dutchman Dirk, John Van Dirk. The French "de," the Arabic "ibn," and the Irish "'O" were used to indicate parentage.
But if there were too many Johns in one area, there still might be too many "Johnsons" for clarity, and soon other ways to identify an individual came into play. John that lived on the Hill became John Hill (from my own experience I know a lot of folks lived on hills in England!). Or John who lived on the broad lea or meadow, became John Brodelegh which became Broodeley, then Broadley, and eventually Bradley. But there were also many broad meadows that housed folks, so other means of identification were needed.
As most of this naming was taking place in medieval times, it was only natural that the kinds of jobs folks had then would be used to distinguish one John from another. John the Blacksmith, John the Silversmith, and John the Coppersmith. Over time these names sometimes were abbreviated to Black, Silver, Copper, and, of course, Smith. Carpenter is one that is still obvious, as are Mason and Brewer.
In high school we once had an assignment to learn the origin of our surnames. Of course we all snickered for the girl whose last name was Whale. But she put us in our place when she announced that her ancestors were probably whalers.
Sawyer was a common occupation of the day. An occasional Mayor was given that transient job as an enduring surname. Bishop and Abbott referred not only to folks holding those positions, but often also to those employed in their households, so place of employment, not only the job itself, became a common source for surnames.
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