These are thought to have originally been given to people as nicknames to differentiate between people with the same first name. These are the ones that echo a personality or character trait, for example Short, Little, Hardy and Wise. Aphelion point of the orbit at the greatest distance from the sun.

For example, the old English town of Arrington or the well-known Middleton (the Duchess of Cambridge's maiden name) probably derived from 'middle farm'. Let’s dive into the list of awesome old fashioned last names. Some of these surnames might be quite obvious - such as London, Lincoln or Derby - but others may be names of places that no loner exist. But can we delve a little deeper ?Īccording to .uk, there are seven types of British surname and each category can provide some helpful clues into our family history. Today's royals still don't need a last name, but it's technically Mountbatten-Windsor, a blend of the Queen and her husband's surnames. Payton (no matter the spelling) This is a name that means peacock town. Nixon The meaning of this name is son of Nicholas.

Howard The meaning of this name is warden or guard. That year, King George V decreed that the family surname would be Windsor. Here are some examples of common Old English names used as last names or first names: Ashley (no matter the spelling) The meaning of this name is ash tree clearing. On June 19, 1917, during the third year of World War I, Britains King George V orders the British royal family to dispense with the use of German titles. We might know a bit about them geographically – for example, Jones, Williams and Davies are more likely to come from Wales. The INSIDER Summary: Before 1917, the British royal family had no last name at all. They make our births, marriages and finances official and they are the only thing that allows us to own a passport and travel to world.īut how much do we truly know about the origins of our names – our surnames in particular?

British last names