Do you have a well known Isle of Wight surname and would like to know more about it?
Most Island residents have surnames common enough throughout the rest of England. There are 1,778 Smiths, 1,065 Joneses and 988 Taylors living here: the 3 most common surnames.
But what about the Attrills and Downers, which we find frequently on the Island but are few and far between elsewhere.
In the first of 3 editions of Isle of Wight Surnames, Island Echo examines family names from A to D.
Attrill
Attrill is by far the best known Isle of Wight surname. 305 Attrills live on the Isle of Wight – nearly 30 percent of all those resident in the UK.
In the past, practically all Attrills lived on the Island. For example, according to the 1841 census, there were 286 Attrills of which 242 were Islanders.
The surname Attrill is said to derive from the local word for stream ‘Rill’. Way back, a person may have been known as ‘John at the Rill’ or ‘John Attrill’.
Many Isle of Wight Attrills are believed to have descended from John Trill of Billingham Manor who was around in the early 16th century. The surname ‘Attrill’ was first recorded in 1570 with a Thomas Attrill.
Famous Attrills include Louis Attrill MBE, who achieved gold at rowing in the Sydney Olympics and adopted Frenchman William Attrill (born in Northwood), who captained French football champions Standard Athletic in 1894 and went on to appear in the silver medal winning French cricket team in the Olympic Games of 1900.
Barton
One of the main clusters of Bartons worldwide is to be found here on the Isle of Wight.
The earliest known Island resident with this surname was Samwell John Barton, who married Joan Comber in Newport in 1572.
The name ‘Barton’ comes from the Old English bere meaning ‘barley’ and tun ‘enclosure’. If you have this surname, it probably means your ancestors once lived on a barley farm.
One of the best known Bartons of recent years was the late council leader Morris Barton, who took great pride in his Island heritage.
Brett
There have been Bretts on the Isle of Wight since Norman times as recorded in the Domesday Book.
The name is apparently not of English origin, however, and is said to have derived from ‘Breton’, the Celtic people of north west France. No doubt our Bretts arrived with the army of William the Conqueror.
One famous Brett associated with the Isle of Wight is the Victorian pre-Raphaelite artist, John Brett.
Burt
Burt does not sound a very illustrious surname, but it apparently derives from the Old English personal name beorht meaning ‘bright’ or ‘famous’
Burts have been present on the Isle of Wight since at least the 11th century as the surname is another of those recorded in the Domesday Book.
The most famous Burt is probably John Burt, who became proprietor of the renowned Ventnor Brewery Burt’s.
Calloway
This surname can also be spelled ‘Callaway’ and has been present on the Island since the Middle Ages.
The Calloways have been very prominent in the village of St Helens in East Wight. Jane Callaway was the mother of adventuress Sophie Dawes, the fisherman’s daughter who became a French aristocrat.
The name is probably French in origin and comes from the old Norman cail(ou), meaning ‘place of stones or pebbles’. The Calloways are therefore most likely to have arrived on our Island at the time of the Norman conquest.
Caws
This is another Norman name which came to the Isle of Wight in the 11th century and can also be spelled ‘Cawse’.
The name comes from cauce, an Old French word for stocking. The person originally bearing the surname Caws may either have worn noteworthy stockings of else sold such items.
The most famous Isle of Wight Caws was most probably Joan Caws from Ryde – England’s greatest female draughts player – who became the first Women’s World champion in 1986.
Cheverton
The name is believed to be Old English in origin and is a combination of the personal name Ceofele and tun meaning ‘farm’.
According to a Cheverton family historian, the Chevertons came to the Isle of Wight at the invitation of William FitzOsbern, Earl of Hereford, who was created Lord of the Island by William the Conqueror.
The feudal lord had complete control of the Island and power of life and death over its inhabitants. He gave the Chevertons – who had been his loyal supporters – grants of land at Cheverton Faem at Apse Heath, Cheverton Farm near Showell and Cheverton Down
Downer
Downer is the surname 2nd most closely associated with the Isle of Wight after Attrill. There are 249 Downers living on the Island – a 10th of all Downers countrywide.
The name is quite simple to decipher – it simply means ‘someone from a hill or down; from the Middle English douner.
The Downers have made good down under. In 1837 a Henry and Jane Downer (who originally came from the Island) left Portsmouth to emigrate to Australia.
Their descendants include John Downer (1843-1915), Premier of South Australia; Alick Downer (1910 -1981) , Australian High Commissioner in London; Alex Downer (1951- ), Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The most notorious Isle of Wight Downer was Molly – reputedly the last witch to have lived here.
Do you have any of the above surnames? Do you know of any famous people associated with your family name? Please let us know in the comments.
In the next edition of Isle of Wight Surnames, we shall examine family names from Dyer to Rayner.
Very interesting reading about true local people. Thank you
Brading used to be full of Sqibbs, Buckets and Newnhams whereas Ryde had a lot of Scovells, some of whom were pretentious and claimed that their name did not rhyme with shovel.
You’ll give all the overners even worse complexes now!
What about the old Island surname of Wheeler! As Wheelers Bay is named after them. ‘Poundhammer’ is the most famous of them. A family of fishermen or smugglers depending on who was asking!!
That’s surnames A to D. We’ll get round to doing Wheeler in part 3.
Inbreeding use to be common on the Island.
Wroxall being the favourite
Six toes wroxall lol
Used to be?
Used to be? Lol
That’s what a visiting examiner from OFSTED said and got the sack. You only have to search your ancestry/family tree to see how many locals snuggled up together.
What’s the betting many still do, especially in the winter months
in the current economic climate, saves having the Heating on
Lol
That was a random thing to bring up
What about Nutter plenty on this island
really enjoyed the info, will there be a book or is there one, would love to buy a copy.
I’m sure Bucket should have featured in this part of the list.
I don’t know if the name Caws means something about stocking but according to the Dictionary of British surnames it is a Norman French name from the area of Caux in Normandy
Our family name of Denness is quite unusual but there is a cluster of them on the Island
Is the name Cave an old Island name.
CARTER should have been included – There were seven sisters that lived at Upton in Ryde and the father lived at Puckpool House?
Carter is the 46th most common surname in the whole of England.
There’s an actual Debbie Downer who works at County Hall. Hilarious. Poor lady.
Actual born islanders surnames as don’t think many left now
Oh come on we all know the real reason why the name Burt is so common here. Largely due to one particular person
Any Colenutts, Colnet perhaps…?
As a recent arrival to the island, I find these articles very useful in helping me understand the attitudes of the local community. But why is there a split between caulkheads and people not born on the island? Was there a war in the past that led to this animosity?
Caulkheads don’t like overners. Island born and bred. The island is full. No war. Just how it is and always will be.
Many local names end in “tt” or “ll”. Just a spelling convention?