Surnames and society in West Yorkshire: An analysis of names in the Wakefield Court Rolls, 1274--1352

The thirteenth and fourteenth centuries were the period in which most English surnames developed and became hereditary. This study analyzes several thousand names found in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in 1274–75 and 1350–52 to show naming practices in the West Riding of Yorkshire during this period of rapid surname development and discusses the way in which these naming practices illustrate the roles, relationships, activities, and actions of the people of the late medieval Wakefield manor community.;The study includes statistics on the type and number of surnames used at given points during the period studied, including discussion of the cultural and social implications of name choice. Each surname is classified and analyzed, and an index of the names studied is included.