What is a Surname?

By A V C Roberts

Historian Vol 7 No 6 September 1987

"What does the word surname mean?" This question was once asked at one of our monthly meetings. I looked the word up in the following dictionaries that I have on bookshelves and I quote:- (Oxford Illustrated Dictionary 2nd edition) "Family name, common to all members of family; (archaic) name or epithet added to person's name(s), esp. one derived from his birthplace or some quality or achievement. - vt. Give as a surname; give surname to." (Hugo's Reference Dictionary) "Hereditary family name transmitted in male line." (Cassell's Reference Primer) "Extra name given: eg. 'sur' (extra) name:- JAMES(on), the son of JAMES, or WATTS(on) the son of WATT, also the name of the man's trade:- MILLER, COOPER, BAKER, also place of birth DERBY, YORK, LANCASTER and &c."

How confusing it would be if we were called just plain TOM, DICK and HARRY. Now that we have found out what the word surname means I am by no means satisfied, I feel that it means more, much more to me anyway.

Now let me try and explain how I see the meaning of the word, I see it, first as the most cherished heirloom that man can possess, it has been handed down for counties years, from father to son and then on to their sons. The variety of the spelling of the name would likely change over the years and cause a bit of confusion when tracing the family back but the main structure of the surname is still there.

Whenever I see my own surname it tells me all about the joy and the sorrows that go to make up my Family History. It is small at the moment but it is going to get bigger, much bigger. My own surname ROBERTS is a very common or garden name, in fact you could class it as a weed because it pops up all over the place, including places where it is not wanted. And it is an even money bet that if you look amongst your own family tree you are most likely to find a ROBERTS hiding there somewhere. What is that you said? "There's none in my tree". Maybe not but keep looking, they will sneak in some time and if by chance they do, please send them together with all their details to me and I will take good care of them in my files and they can live with me rent-free as well.

I have a list of nearly 350 ROBERTS, who were convicts sent to Australia, so by now there must be more of us out there than Kangaroos. If not, we must come a close second. My surname tells me all the little stories that only family history can tell. It tells me when and where my father was born and what his father did for a living, he was a hawker travelling round the south of England until he got married for the second time and settled in Brighton until his death there in 1917 at the age of 87 years. His father was a Plymouth man, a master carpenter and undertaker. He appears to have had his hands on their money before and after.

My name also tells me that my grandmother was born November 1837 in the workhouse and that she and her parents were thrown out just before Christmas 1837 - "undesirable inmates" - was entered in the workhouse ledger. I wonder if the Workhouse Master ever did what her father told him to do with his christmas pudding? I hope it was hot. Her mother and father were Irish with the names of DRISKELL and FLAHTERY, just two other surnames to make my "heirloom" more priceless as each jewel is uncovered in my research.

Although the name ROBERTS is thick upon the ground the ones that you seek are very hard to find. That is why I collect my christenings, marriages and burials from anywhere in the world. These I pass on to anyone who may enquire, free of charge with an SAE. And if one were to look in any directory such as WHO'S WHO, WHO WAS and WHO WILL BE they are almost certain to find at least a dozen or more of us inside. Soldiers, Sailors, Writer &c. Next time that you are watching television take special note of the credits at the end of the programme, nine times out of ten you will see a ROBERTS creeping quickly up the screen.

A father and son both won the highest award for bravery that can be won, the Victoria Cross. The father, Field Marshal Lord Roberts, also took command at the age of 67 in the Boer War. My father served under him, Lord Bobs they called him. No connection at present to my own family but who knows, I might find him an odd corner in time to come.

And if you look close, and I mean very close, you will see there is a Prime Minister but under a different name. Well I hope this little article has opened up a new way that will enable you all to enjoy your own family history as a living subject, not just a list of names and dates.

Historian Vol 7 No 6 September 1987