Notes: |
English, introduced into Britain by the Normans, but rare in English. Where it is used, it may be as a family name through many generations and for both male and female members of the family.
The derivation is from various early saints' forenames and was apparently used for someone who had a swarthy complexion [i.e. "like a Moor", a term derived, via French, from a Phoenician word meaning "from the east"]. |