Re: Name origin
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In reply to:
Name origin
John Billing 11/27/05
British surnames roughly fall into three categories (there are sub-divisions within those categories).These are occupational (e.g Smith, Cooper, Sawyer); personal/parental (e.g. Johnson, Short, Long, Williams); and those associated with place or geography (e.g. Hill, Wood, Coldwell).According to my father, the surname Timewell, which one sees in old records spelled as Tymewell, was once Thymewell, as Thyme - the man who lives near the well where the thyme bushes grow.
Once you notice them, you find an enormous number of surnames in England that end in -well.