Domesday Surnames

The Domesday Book was compiled on the orders of William the Conquerer to catalogue the ownership and value of land in the newly conquered territories of England. It was completed in 1086.

In the 11th century, surnames were still in a state of flux and many people still did not have what we would consider a surname. The surnames that did exist were not necesareily either inherited or passed on to children; in many cases surnames were merely personal nicknames or toponyms and would have varied from generation to generation.

Nonetheless, the Domesday book does record a significant number of people with surnames. Many, like that possessed by the imaginatively named Humphrey Goldenbollocks, have been lost to the mists of time. However, there are also many which we would now recognise.

This is a list of all the surnames mentioned in Domesday which are still current in the UK. If yours is one of them, you have one of the earliest recorded surnames.