Area By areas from the Norman invasion “… and why did unstable bynames precede hereditary surnames if the Norman baronage had already developed hereditary surnames in the late eleventh century and we are confronted purely by downwards cultural conflation?” (Postles, 2006, Naming the People of England, c. 1100-1350, p 4) Normandy: Dabney, Mountford Brittany: Brett, Britney, Brittain Burgundy: Berkin Gascony: Gascoigne Le Contentin: Constantine Champagne: Champion Lorraine: Lorring Maine: Maine, Mansell Caux: Cawes Picardy: Picard, Power (= Le Pohier) Flanders: Flinders Brabant: Bremner By homeland nation Britain (not Britton, which denotes a person from Brittany) Scotland “Surnames were rare in the Highlands till the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when the younger and minor clans escaped the tutelage of the Island lords and the ‘lieutenancies’ of Huntly and Argyll. Individuals were designated by a string of ancestors, ending usually with the name of the croft or farm occupied, such as John MacHamish vic Aonas vic Allister Reoch in Ballochroan (1679). After the ’45 matters rapidly changed; movements and expeditions to the Lowlands necessitated surnames and these were adopted, either from the clan to which the individual really belonged or to which he attached himself, or from the name of the district or place of origin. It has been a common thing for the smaller septs to sink their real surname in the bigger tribal or clan name.” (Macbain The study of Highland Personal Names Celtic Review, 1905-6, p63) Clan names from placenames Bruce, Cunningham, Douglas, Forbes, Fraser, Gordon, Graham, Hamilton, Hay, Kerr, Murray, Ross, Sinclair, Sutherland. By county Scotland/Wales/England “Many appear to be absent as surnames –Bedfordshire, Sussex, Yorkshire for example –whereas others Derbyshire, Devonshire Hampshire- are found quite frequently. It will be interesting to discover if many have died out.” (Rogers, 1995, p57) (but Derbyshire can relate to West Derby near Liverpool. And Hampshire can be a corruption of Hallamshire.) By major town Wooster, Lester (but Brighton derives from Breighton in Yorkshire, and most Sunderlands derive from a farm near Halifax) (Source: J Titford) Edinburgh, _Edinbry, Edinborough. Minor settlement [There is a huge area here as I would think that most toponymic surnmames are from minor settlements. I am surprised that Philip has a blank here. -MS] Origins obscure Strange, Norris (= northerner), Southeran