Surnames

My immediate pedigree starts with 4 grand-parent names : WARKUP, CALVERT, KIRBY and WATTS. The two main names being researched are WARCUP and CALVERT. 'WARCUP' is being more thoroughly initially as there are far more CALVERT's to track down. The WATTs and KIRBYs will also be investigated eventually.)

WARCUP - The meaning of the surname

CALVERT - The meaning of the surname

WATTS - The meaning of the surname

KIRBY - The meaning of the surname

WarCup or WarKup ?

There are a number of variations of WARCUP found during the investigation. The most common one being WARKUP. The WARCUP's and WARKUP's are actually part of the same family tree. The WARKUP with a 'K' originates in East Yorkshire, when a particular census was taken. As most poeple were unable to read/write, it was up to the census takers to spell names. It seems that the people taking the census in and around Beeford / Skipsea spelt the name with a 'K' rather than a 'C'. We have evidence of the same person appearing in one census in one area as WARCUP, and becoming a WARKUP because they were in a different town during the next census.

The Office of National Statistics Database 2002 gives the following numbers of people in England, Wales and the Isle of Man with the surnames I am investigating:

It is obvious from the numbers that WARKUP will be the easiest surname to tackle first, followed by Warcup. Thankfully my grand-parents do not include Smith or Brown (which is my wife's family) !