Norris is an English surname with three possible origins and meanings: the first is that it may derive from Old French norreis meaning "northerner", such as someone from farther up north in England or from Scotland or Scandinavia, though it may also have been used to describe someone who may have been a Norseman, or a Viking;… Continue reading Norris
Marwood is an English surname derived from the name of a settlement, possibly meaning "boundary wood" from Old English mere/mǣre(boundary, limit) and wood (wood). Another possible origin for Marwood is that it may have originated as a nickname for someone believed to have the power of casting the evil eye, coming from an Old French word… Continue reading Marwood
Origin: French Gentry comes from Old French genterise meaning "noble birth" or "high birth" or "gentleness". Gentry is also used as a male given name. Variants: Jentry Jendry Gentiry Guntrey Gentil (French) Gentreau (French) Gentric (French)
Origin: French, Latin, English Meaning: As a surname, Bessey has several possible origins. It could be derived from a place name in France, which seems to come from Bassiacum, a Gallo-Roman name made up of Latin given name Bassius which either comes from Greek bassos "fox" or from Latin bassus "short, low". Another possible meaning… Continue reading Bessey
Origin: Proto-Indo-European Partridge is an English surname which comes via Old French perdriz, derived from Latin perdix, perdicus meaning "partridge" in reference to the bird. It likely comes from Greek pérdomai which means "to break wind, to fart" from Proto-Indo-European root word *perd (to fart, break wind). According to Greek myth, the partridge first came into existence… Continue reading Partridge
A History of Surnames 