Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Surname Dictionaries

I must have read all the surname dictionaries over the years, looking at their entries for Hollier/Hollyer, but somehow never wrote down specifically what each one said. As I had some spare time in London today, I popped into the Society of Genealogists to go through their collection systematically. No great revelations. Apart from those that get the name completely wrong or don't feature it at all, most opt for 'dweller by the holly tree' or 'whoremonger', though why anyone would voluntarily adopt that as a hereditary surname beggers belief. Finally found the dictionary that makes the incorrect link between the Huguenot D'Oyler and Hollier and the one that thinks it's just a mistake for Hellier. We know so much more now.

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