Collins Dictionary Of Surnames: From Abbey to Mutton, Nabbs to Zouch. Leslie Dunkling
Chamberlin, Chambers, Champerlen (Eng) An occupational name originally designating someone who managed the private chambers of his employer, normally a nobleman or perhaps the king himself. At the highest level he was a very influential official. Later chamber-attendants operated at a much humbler level and were more like chamber-maids.
Popular newspapers were delighted to report on the wedding, in the 1970s, of a Mr Chambers to a Miss Potts. It was inevitably described as ‘a marriage of convenience.’
L.G. Pine writes, in The Story of Surnames: ‘Chamberlain, not in most cases derived from any office of great profit or standing, but from the inn chamberlain, who looked after the arriving guests. The German name, now acclimatised in England, ZIMMERMAN, brings it out better – room man, the fellow who allotted the guests their rooms in the inn.’ A German Zimmermann is more likely to have helped build a bedroom or the bed itself. The name means ‘carpenter.’ Zimmer does indeed mean ‘room’ in modern German, but in the Middle Ages it would have been Zimber, a form showing its connection with ‘timber.’
Chambly see CHOLMONDELEY.
Champerlen see CHAMBERLAIN.
Chance see HAZARD.
Channon see CANNON.
Chape see CAPRON.
Chaperlin, Chaperling see CHAPLIN.
Chaperon see CAPRON.
Chaplin, Capelen, Capelin, Capeling, Caplen, Caplin, Chaperlin, Chaperling, Chaplain, Chapling (Eng) Occupational name for the servant of a clergyman.
Charles Chaplin, in My Autobiography, writes: ‘I started schooling and was taught to write my name “Chaplin.” The word fascinated me and looked like me, I thought.’
Chapman, Chapper, Cheeper, Chipman, Chipper (Eng) Occupational man for a trader, a man who bought and sold articles. The first element in Chapman is from Old English ceap, which led to the words ‘chap,’ ‘cheap’ and ‘chop’ (as in ‘chop and change.’)
Chapron see CAPRON.
Charlton (Eng) Someone who came from one of the several places so-named because it was a ‘settlement of free peasants.’
Charter see CARTER.
Chasselove see LOVE.
Chatham (Eng) Descendant of someone who originally came from one of the places so-named because it was a ‘homestead near a forest.’
Chatterton (Eng) Probably someone who came from a place named Chadderton, ‘settlement near a hill.’
Chatterley, the name made famous by D.H. Lawrence in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, has much the same meaning. Lawrence was presumably being ironic when he gave his heroine the first name Constance.
Chaucer, Chauser (Eng) Occupational name of a maker of leather leg-wear. Ernest Weekley disliked complicated explanations of a name when a simple one was available, and he agreed that the evidence for the origin of this name from French chauceor ‘hose-maker’ was convincing. He nevertheless suggested that some families of this name might have an ancestor who was a chauffecire, literally a ‘heat wax.’ Some English writers (though only from the 17th century onwards) used the term ‘chafe-’ or ‘chaff-wax’ to describe the Chancery official who prepared wax that was used to seal official documents. Weekley also suggested that a Chaucer, Chauser might have been a ‘chalicer,’ a maker of drinking cups or goblets. Of these various possibilities, ‘hose-maker’ remains by far the most likely.
Chaulk see CHALK.
Chauser see CHAUCER.
Chaytor see CATER.
Cheater, Chetter (Eng) Occupational name of an official escheater. He supervised the reversion of estates to the feudal lord when a tenant died without heir. In many cases, surnames accidentally resemble normal words, but in this instance a Cheater really deserved his name, inasmuch as the verbs escheat and cheat were at one time interchangeable. The development of a new meaning for cheat, namely to ‘deprive someone of something by deceit,’ was a reflection on the dishonesty of the medieval officials. However, Weekley thought that in some instance this name might be a variant of CATER.
Cheeper see CHAPMAN.
Cheesewright, Cheesright, Cherrett, Cherritt, Chessman, Chesswright, Cheswright (Eng) Occupational name for a maker/seller of cheese.
Cheever, Cheevers, Chevers, Chivers (Eng) Occupational name of a goat-herd (from French chevre, ‘goat’), or a nickname for someone who was thought to be goat-like in behaviour.
Chegwyn, Chegwidden, Chegwin (Cornish) Descendant of someone who originally came from a place named because of its ‘white house.’
Cherrett, Cherritt, Chessman, Chesswright see Cheesewright.
Chesterton (Eng) Someone who came from a place so-named because it was a ‘settlement near a Roman camp.’
Cheswright see CHEESEWRIGHT.
Chetter see CHEATER.
Chevalier, Cavalier, Chevallier (Eng) A ‘knight,’ commenting on the fact that he rode a cheval ‘horse.’ This was probably an occupational name for someone who worked for a knight. The noblemen themselves usually had names linked to estates.
Chevers see CHEEVER.
Chilton (Eng) Someone who came from a place so-named because it was a ‘settlement with children.’
Chipman, Chipper see CHAPMAN.
Chivers see CHEEVER.
Cholmondeley, Chambly, Cholmeley, Chumley, Chumbly (Eng) Descendant of someone who originally came from the Cheshire place, so-named because it was ‘Ceolmund’s wood.’
Weekley remarks that it is ‘curious’ that a name of this type (ie a very ordinary transferred place name) should have ‘acquired an aristocratic flavour.’
Lower, in his Patronymica Britannica, pauses to say: ‘I cannot refrain from reprobating the curt and absurd pronunciation of this name – Chulmley or Chumley. Strange that some of our most aristocratic families, who would not willingly concede one jot of their dignity in other respects, should be willing to have their ancient names thus nicked and mutilated. Why should the ST JOHNS submit to be Sinjen’d, the MAJORIBANKS to be Marchbank’d, the FITZ-JOHNS to be Fidgen’d, or the CHOLMONDLEYS to be Chumley’d? Why should the contractions of illiterate “flunkeys” be accepted in the places of fine old chivalrous sounds like those?’ See MARJORIBANKS.
Chopin, Choppen, Choppin, Chopping (Eng, French) Nickname for a heavy drinker. Old French chopiner meant ‘to tipple,’ the verb being derived from a liquid measure called a chopine, ‘the quantity held in a large ladle.’ In France the name also led to Chopine, Chopinel, Chopinnet. Another Old French word chopin ‘heavy blow’ could also have led to this surname, indicating someone who was violently pugnacious.
Chrisp, Chrispin see CRISP.
Christian, Christ, Christey, Christie, Christin, Christine, Christison, Christy (Eng) Descendant of Christian, a given name of obvious meaning. Christ is a rare form of this name, likely to cause problems for its bearers.
Mr Jay F.