What does Fitz mean in front of a surname?

son of
The prefix Fitz as in Fitzwalter (from French fils and Latin filius) is a patronymic meaning ‘son of. ‘ The connotation of illegitimacy was introduced by Charles II who named one of his bastards Fitzroy, (‘son of the king’), and Fitzclarence was an illegitimate son of the Duke of Clarence, later William IV.

Where does the name Fitz originate?

Convention among modern historians is to represent the word as fitz, but in the original Norman French documentation it appears as fiz, filz, or similar forms, deriving from the Old French noun filz, fiz (French fils), meaning “son of”, and ultimately from Latin filius (son).

Why do Irish names have Fitz?

The names Fitzgerald, Fitzpatrick and others with the prefix “Fitz” are numerous in Ireland. The name-form, however, is Norman and most of the families arrived in Ireland during the 12th century. The Fitz prefix is derived from the French “fils” meaning “son of” and is equivalent to the Gaelic prefix “Mac”.

What does Fitzroy mean in English?

Son Of The King
The name Fitzroy is primarily a male name of English origin that means Son Of The King.

What does Sophie mean?

wisdom
Girl. Greek. A form of Sophia, from the Greek name, meaning “wisdom”. Pronounced: sOH fee. “Sophie’s choice” is a bestselling major novel of the 20th Century written by William Styron.

What does Fitz Roy mean?

Fitzroy Origin and Meaning The name Fitzroy is a boy’s name of English origin meaning “son of the king”.

Why do Scottish and Irish names start with MC?

Irish surnames are among Europe’s oldest; Elizabeth I once banned name O’Neill; a surname is spelled six different ways on one tombstone; Mc and Mac mean same thing. Surnames starting with Mac, meaning “son of”, were in general use in Ireland by the late 1100s.

What does the surname O’Connor mean?

O’connor Name Meaning Irish (Derry, Connacht, Munster): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Conchobhair ‘descendant of Conchobhar’, a personal name which is said to have begun as Cú Chobhair, from cú ‘hound’ (genitive con) + cobhar ‘desiring’, i.e. ‘hound of desire’.