Origins of a surname

[jane k]

Can anyone suggest a good website where I could find out more about the origin of a surname - I`m sure I used to know one but can`t find it now.

The surname I am interested in is `Solomon` - the family is in Kent in the 18th century & there is no indication that they were Jewish

Many thanks         Jane

[stanmapstone]

According to "The Oxford Names Companion" Solomon is a variation of Salomon; Jewish, English, French, Venetian, German, Danish/Norwegian, Polish, and Hungarian: ultimately from the Hebrew male given name Shelomo (a deriv. of shalom- peace) which was fairly widespread in the Middle Ages among Christians and has for generations been a popular Jewish name. Among Christians it was also used as a nickname for a man who was considered wise, and for someone who had played the part of King Solomon in a miracle play.

Stan

[jane k]

Thanks Stan

Kind regards     Jane

[Hall of Names]

Hi Jane

You could check our website:

http://www.hallofnames.org.uk

Many thanks.

Wendy

[Skoosh]

Jane,  according to "Black's Surnames",  Salmon & Salmond (our First Minister) are old Scots spellings of Solomon, and were in use as early as the 12th century.

Skoosh.

[Ruskie]

Distribution:
http://gbnames.publicprofiler.org/Surnames.aspx

[stanmapstone]

With http://gbnames.publicprofiler.org/Surnames.aspx  the map shows the surname distribution at Royal Mail Postal Area level.javascript:swapOptions();

[jane k]

Thanks very much indeed everyone - most people seem to assume that because of the surname the family must have been Jewish at some point but I don`t think that was the case  - unless it was a very long time ago -

Jane

[Redroger]

You ned to widen your searches as some of these sites do not have comprehensive listings.