Meaning of a name

fmackay · Post by **fmackay** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 8:00 pm

I am interested in finding out the origins of my grandfather's christian name -
Anson.
Somone once told me it means son of Ann which coincidentally fits in his case.

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 8:59 pm

Hi Fiona
I'm guessing you may already have seen these kind of web sites:
http://baby-names.adoption.com/search/Anson.html
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Anson
http://www.behindthename.com/name/anson
http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.co ... Anson.html

Was your grandfather born in Scotland of Scots parents? Just trying to work out if the name may have come from a different branch of the family and it's origins, in his case, may lie elsewhere?

Best wishes
Lesley

fmackay · Post by **fmackay** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 9:14 pm

Hi Lesley
Thankyou for the links - at least the son of Ann might be right then!
Never thought of it as an english name - would be interested to know how it came to be used in Sutherland as a first name
He was born in Sutherland to Sutherland born parents.
I did a search on SP for Anson Mackay's(pity you can't search by christian name !)and there were no entries in the OPR's and 19 in the stat records. Of the 19 entries(1 is a double entry- my dad) 10 of those were registered in Sutherland

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 9:51 pm

Hi Fiona

Of the 19 entries(1 is a double entry- my dad) 10 of those were registered in Sutherland

Kind of makes you wonder if they are all connected in some way...

It would only need one man with that name to have a decent sized family, and in a couple or three generations later with all the kids naming one child after him say, and then the next generation following on, for there to be at least a dozen or so....

I have an example in my tree of an Englishman b. abt 1800 with an unusual surname who seems to have ended up in Forres (not clear why - I think it is a military connection) who goes on to have a good sized family, and everyone in Scotland with that surname seems to be able to be traced back to him. (and that is a large number of people after a few generations!)

Best wishes
Lesley

fmackay · Post by **fmackay** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 10:05 pm

There are 3 generations in my family with the name.
i think I will have a look next time i'm down at NRH .
thanks for your reply

Post by **SarahND** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 10:51 pm

Hi all,
One of my gg grandfather's first name was Duranson. I don't find it on any of those websites, but the assumption would be that it meant "son of Duran"?
His father's name was Waite, so it doesn't apply literally, but perhaps he was named after someone else... Although if you want to see a zero reply screen, just type in first name Duranson in the search box on Ancestry...

The only thing that comes up is that as a surname.
All the best,
Sarah

WilmaM · Post by **WilmaM** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:17 pm

I looked at Anson's as first names on the IGI at Family search - very few in Scotland, lots in England though.

I then popped it in as a Surname in Scotland - lots, but a variation that came up was Eunson which is an Aberdeenshire name.

It's worth checking the side branches of a family for namesakes, or marriage certificates, as off spring often are named after the witnesses or minister who appear there.

fmackay · Post by **fmackay** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:26 pm

Thanks for your replies.
The earliest entry of the name I have come across is a Marinus Anson Munro born in 1861 in Skerray,Sutherland. He would've been a first cousin once removed to my grandfather. The next Anson is my grandfather. I haven't come across the name in any other branches apart from my immediate family.I don't remember seeing the name of a minister or doctor with that name as I would've taken a note of it I'm sure.

Currie · Post by **Currie** » Sun Dec 28, 2008 12:49 am

Hello All,

It is likely that some first names Anson derived from fathers naming their sons after Admiral George Anson who was very much in the news in the mid 1700s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Ans ... aron_Anson

No less than seven British warships were named after him and that’s another possibility if the father had any sort of a connection to any of those. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Anson

Alan

WilmaM · Post by **WilmaM** » Sun Dec 28, 2008 12:58 am

That fits in better with the time period Alan - all I could bring to mind were Avro Anson planes from WWII!

Though the Wikipedia also throws up 2 George Ansons:
1. C-in-Chief in India 1797 - 1857
2. General during the Peninsular War 1769 - 1849