Meaning of my surname

[jeanette1976]

Does anyone know where i can get this info?

[mazie]

try Google

[Xanthippe]

This seems a very useful site and gives a number of options. Good luck, but don't be surprised if you are disappointed by the meaning. A friend of mine found out her maiden name was old french for a washer woman. We jokingly called her 'scrubber' after that and she was not amused. :-)

http://genealogy.about.com/od/surname_meaning/

[dot.hawkes]

I have taught this topic in the past and basically people make two mistakes, they think the origin of their name and the meaning of their name are the same thing.
there are only a few types of surname,. a place name, an occupationl name, a patromymic (or matronymic rarely) AND a descriptive name, i.e. Greenwood.
Whereas, if you want to know the origin of your name that is more geographically and historically based.

[Buenchico]

Any reasonably-sized reference library will have a copy of 'A Dictionary of English Surnames' by P H Reaney & R M Wilson. (They'll probably have several similar books as well).

Not every surname is listed but most are. (As the title suggests, the book concentrates on English names but many names which originally came from Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France are included).

So check out your local library. Alternatively e-mail me and I'll look it up for you in my copy:
[email protected]

Chris