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Help[Surname] Website for Information on Surnames
Hello!
I am a college student trying to get my bachelor's degree in elementary education. For one of my classes we have to discuss our race & ethnicity and the ancestry of our last names. Therefore, I was wondering if any of you know free websites to help find the ancestry of names. The main names I am looking to search for are Fleck, Wilt, Prevost, and Rowland. Thanks for all of your help in advance.
Sincerely,
Madison
I am a college student trying to get my bachelor's degree in elementary education. For one of my classes we have to discuss our race & ethnicity and the ancestry of our last names. Therefore, I was wondering if any of you know free websites to help find the ancestry of names. The main names I am looking to search for are Fleck, Wilt, Prevost, and Rowland. Thanks for all of your help in advance.
Sincerely,
Madison
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Replies
You'll find this kind of information at Ancestry.com. You can start with Fleck at http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=fleck and search for the other names there.
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In ancestry.com, the surnames Fleck and Wilt only have the German origins posted, but they do have an English or Irish origin which it doesn't give. Perhaps you are looking for the English origins of the surname Fleck and Wilt, because all 4 of the surnames Fleck, Wilt, Prevost, and Rowland you are looking for are English surnames.
The surnames Fleak and Fleek are defined in ancestry.com, saying both are English surnames, but of unexplained origin. The English surnames Fleek and Fleak are probably variants of the English/Scottish/Irish surname Fleck, found mostly in county Northumberland of England, and coastal counties of West Scotland and Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland being most concentrated. I think this surname Fleck ultimately originated from Northern Ireland, in the county of Antrim where there were many Fleck families living. The origin and meaning behind Fleck, I have no clue.
Now there is the English surname Flick, similar spelling to Fleck, but this English surname Flick is most concentrated in London and East Anglia, mostly in county Essex. A possibility that some Fleck families in America have their ancestors from London or East Anglia, a variant spelling. The surname Flack is also mostly found in East Anglia and London, perhaps a connection between the surname Flick and Flack. The origins are given in http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=Flack .
The surname Wilt is also found in England, but a rare surname, mostly found in Hampshire, Southern England. Perhaps it is a variant of the name Walt, a shorten form of Walter. The origins of Walter can be found here - http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=Walter
The surnames Fleak and Fleek are defined in ancestry.com, saying both are English surnames, but of unexplained origin. The English surnames Fleek and Fleak are probably variants of the English/Scottish/Irish surname Fleck, found mostly in county Northumberland of England, and coastal counties of West Scotland and Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland being most concentrated. I think this surname Fleck ultimately originated from Northern Ireland, in the county of Antrim where there were many Fleck families living. The origin and meaning behind Fleck, I have no clue.
Now there is the English surname Flick, similar spelling to Fleck, but this English surname Flick is most concentrated in London and East Anglia, mostly in county Essex. A possibility that some Fleck families in America have their ancestors from London or East Anglia, a variant spelling. The surname Flack is also mostly found in East Anglia and London, perhaps a connection between the surname Flick and Flack. The origins are given in http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=Flack .
The surname Wilt is also found in England, but a rare surname, mostly found in Hampshire, Southern England. Perhaps it is a variant of the name Walt, a shorten form of Walter. The origins of Walter can be found here - http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=Walter
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The English surname Fleck comes from Old Norse fleki 'hurdle', and is thus the nickname of a maker of these. Fleck is also found in Ireland and Scotland but the origin is different and basically undetermined. That said, there is no evidence that Fleck in the US is anything but German as shown, for example, at http://tinyurl.com/6ta3drs.
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I have read that the Irish Fleck is an Ulster Scots form of the Scottish Affleck, itself a variant of the surname/place name Auchinleck (Gaelic, 'field of the flat stones').
One could begin a study of the subject by reading the Wikipedia article on surnames and following up the links (assuming one hasn't already done so).
One could begin a study of the subject by reading the Wikipedia article on surnames and following up the links (assuming one hasn't already done so).
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This is what MacLysaght (The Surnames of Ireland) has proposed but more recently, De Bhulbh (All Ireland Surnames) has modified this to 'possibly from Affleck'. The problem is that Black (The Surnames of Scotland) has proposed a completely different origin, viz. "Perhaps of local origin from Flegg in co. Norfolk".
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