Etymology — The Origins of English Words

Doolittle

Origin

From do + little, originally a nickname for an idler.

Naidu

Origin

Borrowed from Telugu నాయుడు (nāyuḍu), possibly with equivalents in other Indian languages.

Hightower

Origin

By surface analysis, high + tower.

Latham

Old Norse

Habitational surname from any of various places in northern England, from the dative plural form of Old Norse hlaða (“storehouse, barn”).

Gu

Origin

From Mandarin 古 (Gǔ).

Shrek

Yiddish · 1990

From the ogre character Shrek, created by author William Steig for his 1990 picture book and made globally famous by the DreamWorks film franchise; the name itself comes from the Yiddish word for "fright."

Lundy

Old Norse

The island's name comes from Old Norse "lundi" ("puffin") plus "ey" ("island") — literally "puffin island."

Travolta

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Travolta.

Rug

Old Norse

Uncertain; probably of North Germanic origin; perhaps inherited via Middle English *rugge (suggested by Middle English ruggy (“hairy, shaggy, bristly”) and rugged (“hairy, shaggy, rugged”)), from Old Norse rǫgg (“shagginess, tuft”), from Proto-Germanic *rawwō (“long wool”), probably related to *rūhaz (“rough”), related to English rag and rough. Cognate with dialectal Norwegian rugga (“coarse coverlet”), Swedish rugg (“rough entangled hair”), related to English rag and rough. Compare also Old English rȳhe (“rug, rough covering, blanket”).

Damocles

Latin

Borrowed from Latin Dāmoclēs.

Stapleton

Old English

From Old English stapol (“post, pillar”) + tūn (“enclsoure; settlement, town”).

Grantham

Old English

From an Old English personal name Granta, or from grand ("gravel") and hām ("homestead").

Selby

Old Norse

From Old Norse selja ("willow") and býr ("settlement, farm").

Leyland

Origin

From layland ("fallow land").

Stamford

Old English

From Old English stan ("stone") and ford, referring to a stony river crossing.

Brentwood

Middle English

From Middle English brende ("burnt") plus wode ("wood").

Windermere

Old English

From an Old Norse personal name (Vínandr) plus Old English mere, "lake" — so roughly "Vínandr's lake".

Matlock

Old English

From Old English mæðel, "assembly, meeting," and āc, "oak" — roughly "the oak tree where meetings are held."

Bracknell

Origin · 942

First recorded in AD 942 as Braccan heal, perhaps meaning "nook of land belonging to a man called Bracca."

Ascot

Old English

From Old English ēast (“east”) + cot (“cottage, hut”). Doublet of Eastcote.

Ino

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek Ἰνώ (Inṓ).

Willingham

Origin

From the Old English personal name *Wifel + -ing (“belonging to”) + hām (“homestead”).

Culpepper

Middle English

From Middle English Coulpeper, equivalent to cull ("to gather") plus pepper, roughly "spice-gatherer."

Ashworth

Old English

From Old English words for "ash tree" and "enclosure."