Yorkshire Surnames: North, East Ridings

The variance of language in Yorkshire in days gone by was described in the previous blog, so it will come as no surprise that even within Yorkshire, again in days gone by, surnames could be completely different, depending upon what part of Yorkshire one lived.

In Victorian times Henry Brougham Guppy did an extensive study of surnames in Great Britain, and he divided Yorkshire’s into two groups. The first is North and East Ridings, and the second is West Ridings. We’ll discuss the first in this blog.

But first, here are some surnames that can be found in Yorkshire and in two or three surrounding counties: Alderson, Allinson, Appleton, Boyes, Calvert, Cockerill, Craven, Cundill, Dent, Featherstone, Flintoff, Hopper, Hornby, Horner, Lofthouse, Lowish, Lumley, Porritt, Sayer, Shipley, Dissall, Sleightholme, Speence, Swales, Thwaite, Tindall, Topham, Wise, Weatherill, and Yeoman.

Names Peculiar to North and East Ridings

Surnames A-D

Agar, Blenkin, Blenkiron, Bosomworth, Botterill, Bowes, Brigham, Codling, Coverdale, Creaser, Danby, Dinsdale, Duck, and Duggleby.

Surnames E-J

Elgey, Elgin, Ellerby, Foxton, Galloway, Garbutt, Goodwill, Grainger, Harker, Harland, Hawking, Hebron, Heseltine, Hick, Holliday, Holyday, Horsley, Hugill, Iveson, Jacques, Jordison, and Judson.

Surnames Surnames K-M

Kendrew, Kettlewell, Kilvington, Kipling, Knaggs, Lamplough, Lamplugh, Laverack, Laverick, Leak, Leake, Leaper, Lackenby, Matson, Matterson, Matison, Medforth, Megginson, Medforth, Meggison, Megson, and Monkman.

Surnames O-R

Outhwait, Parnaby, Petch, Pickersgill, Plews, Porret, Porritt, Precious, Prodham, Prudom, Pybus, Raw, Readman, Rennison, Rider, Rodmell, Rounthwaite, and Rowntree.

Surnames Beginning with S

Scarth, Sedman, Sellars, Sellers, Severs, Spenceley, Spensley, Stainthorpe, Stavely, Stockhill, Stockill, Stockill, Stokell, Stonehouse, Sturdy, Suddaby, Suggett, Suggitt, and Sunter.

Surnames T-Z

Tennison, Tweedy, Tyerman, Ventress, Ventris, Weighell, Weighill, Welburn, Wellburn, Welford, Whitwell, Wilberforce, Wilberfoss, Witty, Wray, and Wrighton.

Next blog: West Ridings (Yorkshire) Surnames

—Cheryl Bolen is the USA Today, New York Times bestselling author of more than three dozen novels set in Regency England. Her latest release is His Lady Deceived.