Surnames as First Names: English Surnames — S (Part 1)

Scollas

On to letter “s” of English surnames beginning with “s” of Old English, Old Norse and Anglo-French origin, which have never, or have only rarely, featured in the US top 1000.

It’s another letter with a lot of fabulous names, offering that something a bit different. Looking for a more unusual long-form of Sam, or a new twist on Scott? Read On!

• Saben — from the personal names Sabin and Sabina “a Sabine”; Sabin has never featured in the top 1000 in the last 130 years either, and Sabina only ever managed 596th place in 1889.
• Sablin — from Sabelina, a diminutive of Sibylla.
• Sacher — we have Sacha, why not Sacher? From the Old French sachier “sack-maker.”
• Sacheverell — a name which saw modest use in Victorian Britain (a famous bearer was Sir Sacheverell Sitwell). From Saultchevreuil in Normandy. Old French: sault “waterfall” + chevreuil “roe deer.”
• Sacker, Saker — not a sacker of cities but a sack-maker, from Old English sacc “sack.”
• Sackville — an aristocratic English family (they became Dukes of Dorset), whose name derives from Sauqueville in Normandy. Old French: sambuc “elder” (the tree) + ville “villa,” “farmstead,” “village,” “town.”
• Saddler — Middle English sadelere “saddle-maker.”
• Saffery, Saffrey — from the Old English personal name Saefrid “sea-peace.”
• Sager, Seager — from the Old English personal name Saegar “sea-spear.”
• Sailant — Old French saillant “dancing”; used of a dancer.
• Saive, Sayve — from the Old English female personal name Saegifu “sea-gift.” Medieval variants included Seiva and Sageve.
• St John, Sinjin — like Sacheverell, St John has seen more use in the UK than in the US, being the surname of an aristocratic clan; Sinjin is a phonetic variant. The best-known bearer is St John Rivers in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
• Salby — from Saleby, Lincolnshire. Old Norse Sali (a short form of Salomon, the Old Norse form of Solomon) + bý “farmstead,” “village” and “settlement.”
• Salinger, Selinger — from one of the places called St Léger in France. Léger is a French form of Leodegar. Borne, of course, by the great J.D. Salinger.
• Salliss — we have Katniss, why not Salliss? Meaning “(at the) willows,” from Old English sealh “willow.”
• Salter — Old English sealtere “salt-maker,” or “salt-seller.”
• Salton — from Salton, Yorkshire. Old English sealh “willow” + tūn “enclosure,” “farmstead,” “estate,” “manor,” “village.”
• Salway — from the Old English personal name Saelwig “prosperity-war.”
• Sambell — a variant of Semple, from one of the places in France called St Paul or St Pol.
• Samber — a variant of Semper, from one of the places in France called St Pierre (Peter).
• Sambrook — from Sambrook, Shropshire. Old English sand “sand” + brōc “brook.”
• Sanby — from Saundby, Nottinghamshire. Old Norse  sandr “sand” or personal name Sandi (a short form of names containing the element sandr) + bý “farmstead,” “village” and “settlement.”
• Sandall — from one of the places of the name (Old English sand “sand” + halh “nook of land”) or the Old Norse personal name Sandulfr “sand-wolf”).
• Sander — a medieval pet-form of Alexander.
• Sandifer — no, not a cross between Sandy and Jennifer. From a lost village in Yorkshire called Sandiford — Old English sandig “sandy” + ford “ford,” “river-crossing.”
• Sandon — from one of the places of the name. Old English sand “sand” + dūn “hill.”
• Sandys — Old English sand “sand,” used of someone who lived next to the sands.
• Sangar, Sanger — Old English sangere “singer.”
• Sangster — Old English sangestre “(female) singer.”
• Sangwin — Old French sanguin “sanguine.”
• Sankin — from a medieval pet-form of Samson.
• Santon — from one of the places of the name. Old English sand “sand” + tūn “enclosure,” “farmstead,” “estate,” “manor,” “village.”
• Sarell — from the Old Norse personal name Sǫrli, a short form of names begining with saro “armor,” “protection.”
• Sarson — partly “son of SAYER,” and partly Old French Sarrazin “Saracen.”
• Sauvain, Sauven, Savin — partly from Silvanus, and partly from Old French salvagin “wild.”
• Savigny — from Savenay, or Savigni-le-Vieux, France. Both may derive from the Roman name Sabinus (see Saben above).
• Savoner — from Old French savon “soap”; used of a soap-maker.
• Sawden, Sawdon — from Sawdon, Yorkshire. Old English sealh “willow” + denu “valley.”
• Sawle — from a medieval form of biblical Saul.
• Saxby — Partly from one of the places of the name (Old Norse Old Norse personal name Saksi “Saxon” + bý “farmstead,” “village” and “settlement”) and partly French sacqué “drawn” + epée “sword,” used of a man who taught swordsmanship.
• Saxon — not “a Saxon” as you might think, but from one of the places called Saxton. Old English Seaxe “Saxon” or Old Norse personal name Saksi “Saxon” + Old English tūn “enclosure,” “farmstead,” “estate,” “manor,” “village,” and Old French secrestein “sexton.”
• Sayer — from the Old German personal name Sigiheri “victory-army,” which was popular in medieval times in forms such as Sayer and Saer.
• Saylor — actually nothing to do with “sailor.” Old French sailleor “dancer.”
• Scafe — from the Old Norse skeifr “crooked,” “awry,” “wild.”
• Scarborough — from Scarborough, Yorkshire. Old Norse by-name Skarthi “hare-lip” + Old English burh “fortress.”
• Scarcliff — Lion King meets Wuthering Heights, anyone? From Scarcliffe, Derbyshire. Old English sceard “gap” (the source of my surname, for the record) + clif “cliff,” “slope.”
• Scholler, Scouler — it looks like it might be the English form of Schuyler — but it’s not. Old Norse skáli “(temporary) hut/shelter” + erg “shieling,” “pasture.”
• Schorah, Scorah — from Old French escorre “to run out,” “to scout,” “to spy.”
• Schrieve — Old English scīrgerēfa “sheriff.” Also Shreeve and Shrieve.
• Scollan — from Scotland — not so much the place as the Norman personal name, though it essentially had exactly the same origin: Norman-French Scot “a Scot” + land “land.” A medieval variant was Scolland.
• Scollas — from the medieval girl’s name Scolace, a vernacular form of Scholastica, from the Latin scholasticus “teacher,” “scholar,” “person of learning.” St Scholastica was the sister of St Benedict.
• Scorton — from one of the places of the name. Old Norse skor “ditch,” “ravine” + Old English tūn “enclosure,” “farmstead,” “estate,” “manor,” “village.”
• Scotney — from Etocquigny, Normandy, a place-name probably with Celtic roots.
• Scotto — from Scottow, Norfolk. Old English Scot “a Scot” + hōh “hill-spur.”
• Scotton — from one of the places of the name. Old English Scot “a Scot” + tūn “enclosure,” “farmstead,” “estate,” “manor,” “village.”
• Scriven — Old French escrivain “writer.”
• Scrivener — essentially a variant of SCRIVEN.
• Scudder — Middle English scoudere “clothes-seller” from Old English scrūd “clothes.”
• Scutt — Middle English scut “tail of a hare,” “hare.”