A reference guide to hundreds of surnames that reveal the story of the United Kingdom across generations and centuries. To some extent, we are all products of our family history, the many generations before us. So it is with nations. The history of Great Britain has been largely defined by powerful and influential families, many of whose names came down from Celtic, Danish, Saxon or Norman ancestors. Their family names fill the pages of history books, indelibly written into events we learn about at school. Family names like Wellington, Nelson, Shakespeare, Cromwell, Constable, De Montfort, and Montgomery reflect the long, checkered history of Britain, and demonstrate the assimilation of the many cultures and languages that have migrated to the British isles over the centuries. This book is a snapshot of several hundred such family names and delves into their beginnings and derivations, making extensive use of old sources, including translations of The Domesday Book and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, as well as tracing many through the centuries to the present day.

For better or worse, what we are is often determined by our family; the events that occurred many years before we were born, and the choices that were made by our forebears are our inheritance - we are the inexorable product of family history. So it is with nations. The history of Great Britain has been largely defined by powerful and influential families, many of whose names have come down to us from Celtic, Danish, Saxon or Norman ancestors. Their family names fill the pages of our history books; they are indelibly written into the events which we learned about at school. Iconic family names like Wellington, Nelson, Shakespeare, Cromwell, Constable, De Montfort and Montgomery... there are innumerable others. They reflect the long chequered history of Britain, and demonstrate the assimilation of the many cultures and languages which have migrated to these islands over the centuries, and which have resulted in the emergence of our language. This book is a snapshot of several hundred such family names and delves into their beginnings and derivations, making extensive use of old sources, including translations of The Domesday Book and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, as well as tracing many through the centuries to the present day.

Containing entries for more than 45,000 English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Cornish, and immigrant surnames, The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland is the ultimate reference work on family names of the UK. The Dictionary includes every surname that currently has more than 100 bearers. Each entry contains lists of variant spellings of the name, an explanation of its origins (including the etymology), lists of early bearers showing evidence for formation and continuity from the date of formation down to the 19th century, geographical distribution, and, where relevant, genealogical and bibliographical notes, making this a fully comprehensive work on family names. This authoritative guide also includes an introductory essay explaining the historical background, formation, and typology of surnames and a guide to surnames research and family history research. Additional material also includes a list of published and unpublished lists of surnames from the Middle Ages to the present day.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain provides information on almost all names with more than 30 bearers in the UK 2011 census, based on the latest research. Each of the around 43,500 entries covers the name's etymology, variants, frequency, and historical and geographical distribution.

The origin of the names of many English towns, hamlets and villages date as far back as Saxon times, when kings like Alfred the Great established fortified borough towns to defend against the Danes. A number of settlements were established and named by French Normans following the Conquest. Many are even older and are derived from Roman placenames. Some hark back to the Vikings who invaded our shores and established settlements in the eighth and ninth centuries. Most began as simple descriptions of the location; some identified its founder, marked territorial limits, or gave tribal people a sense of their place in the grand scheme of things. Whatever their derivation, placenames are inextricably bound up in our history and they tell us a great deal about the place where we live.

This book consists of a dictionary of about 8,000 British surnames, with such information as nationality, origin or etymology and, in some instances, references to sources such as Domesday Book, The Roll of Battle Abbey, etc. Barber also frequently cites the place of origin most commonly associated with the surname.

What does the right to be oneself entail? And how is it manifest in our understanding of the law? The leading commentator on this subject explores these questions, taking an ambitious and multi-faceted approach. To answer them, he draws on private law, jurisprudence, constitutional law, as well as history, art and literature. This treatise, translated from the Italian original and expanded to give a more international perspective, is the seminal work on the development of identity-protection through law.