[From Manx Note Book vol 3]

EXOTIC SURNAMES.

CHAPTER V.

UNDER THIS HEAD WE INCLUDE the Surnames which are neither of Celtic nor of Scandinavian formation, but have been introduced by immigration subsequent to the period of Norse domination. Amongst these the first place in order of time belongs to the HIBERNICISED ANGLO-NORMAN NAMES.

'After the murder of the Great Earl of Ulster, William de Burgo, the third Earl of that name in 1333, and the consequent lessening of the English power in Ireland, many, if not all the distinguished Anglo-Norman families seated in Connaught and Munster became Hibernicised-Hibernis ipsis Hiberniores-spoke the Irish language, and assumed surnames like those of the Irish, by prefixing Mac to the Christian names of their ancestors. . . . Thus the De Burgos, in Connaught, assumed the name of MACWILLIAM. . . . from these sprang many offsets . . . as the MACGIBBONS, MACWALTERS,'* &C.

Members of these families settled in the Isle of Mann, particularly in the south-western portion, and contracted their names of MACWALTER and MAC WILLIAM into the decidedly harsh QUALTROUGH and QUILLIAM.

O'Donovan, Introduction, Pp. 21-22.

GARRET, may come from the Anglo-Norman GERALD, but is more likely to have come to us from the Scandinavians.+

+ Manx Note Book, No. 10, pp. 58-59.

GALE, also possibly of Anglo-Norman origin, as 'the Burkes of Gallstown and Balmontin, County Kilkenny, who descended from the Red Earl of Ulster, took the name of Gall, or foreigner" and the Stapletons of Westmeath, took that of Mac ait Ghaill, is more probably a name given by the natives to strangers who settled in the Isle of Mann.

+ O'Donovan, Introduction to Poems, pp. 22-24.

KERRUISH (pronounced KERREUSH), contracted from MacFeorais, 'Pierce's son,' and CORRIS, from MacOrish, another form of MacFeorais. The powerful Anglo-Norman family of Bermingham, Barons of Athenry, took the name of MACFEORAIS or MACORISH from an ancestor PIERCE, PIERAS, or

FEORAS, the son of Meyler Bermingham.~-

'Andrew MacFEORAIS,' A.D. 1321.¹

It is remarkable that in the parishes where KERRUISH is found, CORRIS is not. The former is almost confined to Maughold, where every fourth person bears it, while the latter is very common in German. The diptych

'CHRISTIAN, CALLOW, and KERRUISH,
All the rest are refuse'

is still to be heard in Maughold, and is not so sweeping a condemnation as might be supposed, as 'all the rest' are not numerous. It is perhaps worth relating the popular etymology of this name. A ship was wrecked off Maughold head. The people on shore observing that four of the shipwrecked mariners had stripped and were swimming to shore exclaimed kiare rooisht, 'four naked' ! The swimmers settled in the parish. Hence the name and its frequency there.

Compare (Irish) CORRISH, CORUS, CHORUS, (Gaelic) MACJORIS.

MCCORRIS [1511], CORRAS [1601], KERUSH [1610], CORES [1628], KERRUISH [1643], CORRIS [1647], KERROUSH, KERRISH [1666], CORRISH [1674], KERRUSE [1701], KERISH [1704], KERRISH [1708].

KERRUISH, though it appears in 1643, is not the usual form till the 18th century, till then KERRISH is more common.

KERRUISH-Maughold (vc), hardly found elsewhere.
CORRIS-German (vc), Malew, Patrick (c), elsewhere (u).

O'Donovan, P. 22.+ Four Mast., Vol. Ill., P. 370

CORKISH is probably merely CORRIS with 'k' interpolated. Note the Irish form CORRISH and observe that it is not found before 1660; also, that it does not occur in any of the parishes where CORRIS does.

CORKISH [1660].

Arbory, Bride, Rushen (c). elsewhere (u).

QUALTROUGH, contracted from MacWalter, 'Walter's son,' (see Watterson).

Thomas MACWALTER, constable of Bunfinn,'* A.D. 1308.

The FITZWALTERS were the ancestors of the Princely line of Hamilton, in Scotland.

In the parishes of Rushen and Arbory half the population is called either QUALTROUGH or WATTERSON, and in Malew one-fourth.

MACQUALTROUGH [1429], QUALTROUGH [1430], MACWATER, MAC WHALTRAGH, WHALTRAGH, WATER [1511], MCQUALTHROUGH [1521], QUALTRAGH [1654], QUALTERAGH [1698].

Rushen, Arbory, Malew (vc) elsewhere (u).

WATTERSON, or WATERSON, a corruption of WALTERSON, is a translation of MacWalter. It seems probable that the English speaking MACWALTERS would adopt this name, whilst the Celtic would consent to have their name contracted into QUALTROUGH. We find WATER as a corruption of Walter in England. Thus in the Churchwardens accounts of Ludlow we have The account of WATTARE Taylor and Wyllyam Partynge, beynge churchwardens, in the xxxii yere of the rayne of Kyng Henry the eighth A.D. 1541.'+ This is also shown in the account of Suffolk's death in Shakespeare's Henry VI., where the murderer says-

'My name is WALTER Whitmore,
How now! Why start'st thou ? What doth death affright!
Suffolk-Thy name affrights me, in whose sound is death,
A cunning man did calculate my birth,
And told me that by Water I should die.'

Some think that WATTERSON is a translation of Mac-yn-ushtey, 'Water-son,' but this is very doubtful. The only entry in the Registers of such a name is at Malew in 1669, when it states distinctly that 'William MACYNUSTEY' was 'an Irishman."

Four Mast., Vol. III, P. 489.
Bardsley Sumames, P. 215.
Manx Note Book, No. 8, p.86.

CHODERE was formerly used as a synonym for WATTERSON, members of the same family being called indifferently by one name or the other. CHODERE, however, was evidently used merely as a nickname, as it is not found in the Parish Registers. Mr. J. H. Watterson* thinks that CHODERE is a Manx corruption of GAULTIER or GAUTIER, the French original of the English WALTER.*

WATTERSON is as common in the Southern Parishes as Qualtrough.

WATERSONET [1422], WATTERSON [1504], WATER, WATERSON [1511], WALTERSON [1547].

Rushen, Arbory, Malew (vc), German, Patrick (c), elsewhere (u).

* Manx Note Book, No. 10, p. 99

QUILLIAM, contracted from MacUilliam, 'William's son.' The name 'MACWILLIAM' ' (A.D. 1213,) in Ireland was taken by the DeBurgos, whose descendants were numerous in the Counties of Galway and Mayo. In 1225 King Henry III. granted the province of Connaught to Richard de Burgo. Another Richard de Burgo was Governor of the Isle of Mann A.D. 1292.

Compare (Irish and Gaelic) MCWILLIAM, (English) WILLIAMSON, WILLIAMS.

Marown, Malew, German, Patrick (c), elsewhere (u).

CREBBIN, contracted from MacRoibin, 'Robin's son,' A minor branch of the Barrets, of Tirawley, in Connaught, took the surname of MACROBERT.

Compare (Irish) CRIBBIN, GRIBBIN, GRIBBON, (Scotch) ROBSON, (Welsh) PROBERT, (English) ROBERTS, ROBERTSON, ROBINSON.

MACROBYN [1511], CREBBIN [1640], CRIBBIN [1666], CREBIN [1668].

Jurby, Andreas, Rushen (vc), Braddan, German, Arbory (u), hardly found elsewhere.

CUBBON contracted from MacGibbon, 'Gilbert's son.'

The descendants of Gilibert Fitzgerald, ' younger son of John Fitzgerald, ancestor of the houses of Kildare and Desmond, assumed the appellation of MacGIBBON.'§

Compare (Irish) GIBBON, GIBBONS, MACGIBBON, McKIBBIN, (Gaelic) MACCUBBIN, (English) GIBSON, GILBERTSON, GIBBS, GUBBINS.

GYBONE [1429]+, M'CUBBON [1430], MacGIBBON [1511], CUBBON [1605], CUBBIN [1645], CUBON [1649], GUBBON, CHUBBON [1679].

+ In the British Museum Copy only.
§ Four Mast., Vol. III., p. 180.
O'Donovan, P. 23.

KINRY, contracted from MacHenry, 'Henry's son.'

'MACHENRY,'A,D. 1248.*

Dr. Joyce, however, says that the MACHENRY in Ireland is derived from Innerighe, early riser,' and that many MacHENRYs now call themselves EARLY and YARDLY. We find ' MAGINNERIGH'+ in O'Huidhrin's poem, and in 1511 we have MACENERE as well as MAC HENRY, so it looks as if some, at any rate, of the KINRYS derived their names from this source. In the Isle of Mann KINRY has been invariably translated into HARRISON, which has now, except in the parishes of Andreas and Bride, almost entirely superseded it.

MACENERE, MACHENRY [1511], KYNRY [1669], KINRY [1693].

Andreas, Bride (c), Lezayre (u), hardly found elsewhere.

*Four Mast.,Vol. 3,P.200. +O'Huidhrin,p.119

CRIGGARD and KRICKART (extinct), contracted from MacRichard, 'Richard's son.'

'MacRICHARD,' A.D. 1462.+

The MACRICKARDS or MACRICHARDS were descendants of the MACWILLIAMS.

CRICKART [1649], KRICKART [1657], CRIGART [1664], CRIGGARD [1771].

The name was formerly common in Jurby.

+Four Mast., Vol. IV.  

MACSHARRY and MACSHERRY [1511] (extinct), is a corruption of MacGeoffrey, 'Geoffrey's son.'

The Hoduets of the Strand, a Shropshire family, took the surname of MACSHERRY,'§ when they settled in Ireland.

We have KNOCKSHARRY, possibly so called from a proprietor of this name, though the derivation usually given is from Sharragh, a 'foal.'

Magrath MACSHERRY, Bishop of Conmaicne,' A.D. 1230.**

§ O'Donovan,P.24. **Four Mast., Vol. III., p. 250.

Since the Isle of Mann became subject to English rule a considerable number of English, Scotch, and other family names have been imported. Some of these have undergone some corruption in insular use, while a few have even been translated into Manx, often, of course, with very grotesque misapprehensions of their meaning.

We mention here those which are known to have been in use for, at least, several generations, omitting such as are of merely incidental occurrence :

OATES and OATS. This surname is not uncommon in England, and is probably a derivative of the Norman Christian name OTE or OTES. 'Sir Ote' was one of the brothers of Gamelyn (see the 'Tale of Gamelyn,' erroneously ascribed to Chaucer). It is not so common in the Isle of Mann now as formerly. It was occasionally found as a Christian name also.

Braddan, Santon (vc), Marown, German, Onchan (c), elsewhere (u).

CORJEAG (pronounced CORJATG), is an attempt at translating the English CAVENDISH, (imagined to mean 'giving dish'!)

'CURJAIG, s.f. an alms dish . . . This word is used for the surname of Cavendish, (in Manks) but more probably giving dish.'*

At the end of the 16th century a family called Cavendish settled in the parish of Michael, where they held property in 1583 (vide Liber Vastarum), and from 1611 (when the Register commences) to 1650 their births, marriages and deaths are duly entered under that name, but after that time, though the family is known not to have died out, the name disappears, and CORJEAG entirely supplants it, the two names having co-existed since 1611. CORJEAGE is still almost confined to Michael, occurring rarely in the adjacent parishes and not at all elsewhere.

CORJEAGE [1611], CORJAIGE [1617], CORJEAG [1626], CORJAGE [1658], CORJAGUE [1736], CORJEGGE [1796].

Michael (c), Ballaugh, German (u).

*Cregeen 'Manx Dictionary,' P. 51.

Several people of this name, who have moved into Douglas, have changed their name into CAVENDISH again.

GUMMERY, a corruption of MONTGOMERY. A MONTGOMERY settled in Kirk Michael and married in 1668, when he is styled MUNTGUMMERY; at the baptism of his first child MOUNTGOMERY; two years later McGUMMERY; in 1688 GUMERY, in 1693 GUMMERY, and in 1708 McGUMMERY.

GUMMERY is now the accepted form. This name is confined to Kirk Michael.

CARALAGH (extinct), is a correct translation of 'Careful'. An English family of this name settled in the parish of Braddan at the end of the 16th century, and their name was soon translated.

CARALAGH [1623], CARALAUGH [1656].

Braddan (c) formerly, Santon (u), not found elsewhere.

COTTINGHAM (obsolete), possibly from one of the Villages so named in England, was formerly a common name in Maughold and Braddan. It is not found after the middle of the 18th century. It took a variety of forms in Manx lips.

COTTINGHAM [1604], COTTIHAM [1628], COTTIGAM [1644], COTTIAM [1647], COTTEMAN [1732].

RADCLIFFE and RATCLIFF, i.e. Red-cliff, has been a common name in the north of the Island from an early period. It is a place-name in Lancashire, where this family was at one time of some importance.

RADCLIFFE [1497], RATCLIFFE [1540], RATCLIFF [1674]. RATCLIFT [1676], RATTLIFFE [1693].

Andreas (vc), Maughold, German, Bride (c), elsewhere (u).

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

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