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HelpMiddle name of note
Prowling through a genealogy site, as one does, I found a woman, born in 1914 and named Elizabeth Johanne, who married a man with the surname Thompson; his given names were Stanley Buttery. Never seen a Buttery before.
This message was edited 12/14/2024, 4:16 AM
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Bizarrely enough, I came across the word buttery for the first time in a book a day or two before you posted this. The word was in the book A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin. The buttery was used as a place for storage.
Specifically for wine, I think; no doubt other expensive food items. The servant responsible for the buttery was, unsurprisingly, the butler!
I could definitely see this name used in a fictional context, along the lines of Lemony Snicket, but for a real-life person? Not so much.
Is Buttery the middle name? Thats quite unfortunate.
It is an odd name for sure. It seems one of your ancestors was trusted to keep the liquor! Here's what I found:
Buttery Surname Meaning
English:: from Anglo-Norman French boterie ‘buttery’ (from Late Latin botaria a derivative of bota ‘cask’) hence a metonymic occupational name for the keeper of a buttery. The term originally denoted a store for liquor but soon came to mean a store for provisions in general. habitational name from Buttery (Shropshire).
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
Buttery Surname Meaning
English:: from Anglo-Norman French boterie ‘buttery’ (from Late Latin botaria a derivative of bota ‘cask’) hence a metonymic occupational name for the keeper of a buttery. The term originally denoted a store for liquor but soon came to mean a store for provisions in general. habitational name from Buttery (Shropshire).
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
I'm happy to say that Stanley Buttery Thompson is not related to me! I do have Thompson cousins, but this man is not among them.
I can’t say I like it.