Cornish surnames are surnames used byCornish people and often derived from theCornish language such as Jago, Trelawney or Enys. Others have strong roots in the region and many in the UK with names such as Eddy, Stark or Rowe are likely to have Cornish origins. Such surnames for the common people emerged in theMiddle Ages, although the nobility probably had surnames much earlier on. Not until the laterMiddle Ages did it become necessary for a common man to have a surname. Most surnames were fully established throughoutCornwall by the end of the 15th century.[1] Cornish surnames can be found throughout the world as part of theCornish diaspora.
Due to the linguistic similarity of Cornish,Welsh andBreton, some surnames can derive from any of the three regions.
The most common surnames in Cornwall are derived frompatronymics, the father's first name being taken either without alteration, for example 'John', or with the addition of genitive '-s' or, typically Cornish, '-o', e.g. 'Bennetto' or '-y' as in 'Pawley'.[1]
The phraseTre, Pol and Pen is used to describe people from, or places in,Cornwall, the United Kingdom. Carew hasBy Tre, Pol and Pen / You shall know the Cornishmen; however,Camden records the rhyme asBy Tre, Ros, Pol, Lan, Caer and Pen / You may know the most Cornishmen.[2][3][4]
ManyCornish surnames and place names still retain these words as prefixes, such as the namesTrelawny orTrevithick and the towns ofPolperro,Polkerris and of coursePenzance. "Carbines" derives fromkarn byghan "littletor".
Caution should be exercised with the derivation of "Car-" surnames as there seems also to be fusion with names containing the wordker "hill-fort", as in "Carvosso"ker fosow "walled hill-fort", a placename found inLudgvan. There is alsokarrek "rocky". "Rosdew" isros du "black moor" and "Ros(e)warne" fromros (g)wern "alder heath" or perhaps "heath by an alder-marsh". "Landry" meanslan dre "enclosure of farmhouse or church-house".
Other examples of place-names used as surnames:
As in many other parts of Europe, names were used to describe the occupation of the head of the family; "Angove" (Cornish:an Gov "the Smith"), for example, being the equivalent to the Irish Gowan, Scottish Gow, Breton "Le Goff", "Legoff", "Legoffic", English "Smith", German "Schmidt", Polish "Kowalski", and Italian "Ferrero". Other examples of names derived from trades include "Dyer" (Cornish:tior "thatcher") and "Helyer" (Cornish:helghyer "hunter"), both of which can be found in English too, i.e. "Thatcher" and "Hunter" respectively, while Dyer itself is also English for someone who dyes clothing.[1]
Other examples:
Some surnames were derived from animals which may indicate that the bearer of some of these surnames may have made a living from hunting, examples include Bligh "wolf" (Cornish:blydh) and Coon "hounds" (Cornish:keun).
Gwinnel: possibly fromCornish:gwennel "swallow"; it also refers to aweaver's shuttle
At least one known Cornish surname derives from the name of a festival, namely"Pascoe" from "Easter".
Another category of surnames is derived from personal characteristics or nicknames/hypocoristics. e.g. "Coad" (Cor.coth=old), "Couch" (Cor.cough=red) and "Tallack" (Cor.talek=wide-browed).[1]
Other examples:
The surname "Cornish" with variants "Cornysshe", "Cornyshe", "Cornysh", "Cornishe", "Cornisshe", and "Cornis"- standardised as "Cornish"- is to be found throughout Great Britain and Ireland. This name seems to originate from a time when ordinary people were still not using surnames in the modern way. A native Cornishman who had left Cornwall for another part ofBritain or Ireland was given the name "Cornish", i.e. theCornishman. In "A Dictionary of British Surnames", P.H. Reaney (1976), the following entries and dates are to be found:[7]
The first recorded instance is in the National Dictionary in 1547. It is likely that the Adam Corneys recorded in 1300 is identical to Adam Le Cornwalais recorded in 1275. Other related names to Cornish that designate a Cornish origin include "Cornwall", "Cornwell", "Cornick", "Curnow", "Cornu", "Kernew", "Kernow" etc. (although Cornick may have other origins as well). In previous centuries these names may have alternated along with "Cornwallis" and "Le Cornwalais".
Especially in West Cornwall, many names typically associated with Welsh are also found. In the Cornish language, ultimately a language linked to Welsh and Breton, the prefix 'map' may have been used, as in Welsh, to indicate the relationship of father to son, this later becoming "ap" (as in NW Breton area, Leon dialect,Breton WP) and then finally the "p" alone being prefixed to the name, e.g. (m)ap Richard becoming "Pri(t)chard". Another feature of these patronymics was the diminutive suffix "-kin" being added the father's first name e.g. "Tonkin", which may derive from either Anthony or Thomas.
Surnames found at high frequencies in both Wales and Cornwall include:
Owing to the gradual language shift in Cornwall from the nativeCornish language to English, approximately until the mid-18th century, some Cornish language surnames underwent change throughfolk etymology. The Cornish meaning of the name was no longer understood and so it was changed into a similar-sounding English word, not necessarily anything to do with the original meaning in Cornish. The same process has been noted inCornish placenames too. One example of this process regarding surnames is the surname "Kneebone" which actually derives from the Cornish "Carn Ebwen" or the "tomb", "carn" of "Ebwen". The change must have occurred at a point when the original "k" at the beginning of the English word was still pronounced and thus suggests an early period in which it was anglicised.
There are also many names typically found in Cornwall that may have a completely non-Cornish language origin, excluding those names taken from English, yet a strong association with the area. These names reflect the historical connections between Cornwall and Brittany and also the Norman occupation of Cornwall. TheNormans themselves employed Bretons in the administration of Cornwall and thus "imported" Breton names in Cornwall are not unusual.
Not all people who consider themselves Cornish have a necessarily Cornish surname nor do all Cornish surname bearers necessarily identify themselves as Cornish.
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