Utilizing Ancestry’s free Search box, discover how your Wold ancestors earned their name and spread across the country. Plus, gain more insight into their past lives!
Wold names are topographic names used to refer to those living on any of the uplands known since Middle English times as wolds (for instance Yorkshire Wolds or Cotswolds).
Origin
Earth stands alone as the only planet in our solar system without Greek or Roman mythological roots; instead its name derives from Old English word ‘eor(th)e’ or ‘ertha’ which translates into German as ground or soil.
Ancient Romans would name all of the planets they saw in the sky and often associated them with gods, goddesses or messengers.
Astronomer Andrew Hovell noted that names did not always mean the same thing across cultures, such as Mercury being seen as messenger of the gods or taken from Greek deity Apollo who also held strong associations to sun.
Ertha, on the other hand, is more tied to the earth itself and ancestors who may be buried beneath it, Hovell told TODAY. Furthermore, Ertha can also refer to places where life originates such as caves or mountains as well as being associated with places where the dead rest in peace.
Meaning
The meaning of “Wold” as a given name for boys was “wolf”, making it one of the more popular Middle Ages options in England.
Named for its feminine form, Elizabeth has become quite common since the 20th century, being adopted by authors, musicians and presidents alike.
Deriving from Old English “wald,” meaning forest, the word is now most often applied to open upland areas such as Yorkshire Wolds or Cotswolds in Middle English wolds.
The name can be traced back to the PIE root *welt-, which translates as “woods; wild.” It may be evidence of historical deforestation of the country. Additionally, its meaning varies across various etymologies and can be found both in Britain as well as Scandinavia and Germany.
Popularity
The world name may not be an iconic household term, but it does appear on several countries’ top ten lists of popular baby names. Canada, Australia and Ireland all rank it high, as does the US where it has made the list as the most commonly chosen boy’s name; though not as popular among female parents in terms of frequency of usage among boys; nonetheless it still makes waves as an option to consider when considering birth registration options for both genders.
Researching potential world names is the best way to decide if one will work for your family, and using the Social Security Administration’s Online Baby Name Database is an excellent place to begin this exploration process. Not only can you see which names are rising or waning in popularity but you can also use its portal to view top ranked names categorized by popularity, sex or year of birth; plus there’s even an interactive chart which highlights which ones have spiked or fallen off over recent years!
Etymology
Names play an essential part in global geography; just like geographical features, they divide up our planet into various pieces and separate people into distinct groups.
Names for our homes often derive from various sources – some being literal while others describing specific natural elements.
One way in which languages progress is through adding prefixes and suffixes to words to form new words, known as etymology. Etymology is an intriguing area of linguistics which studies the history and development of words, phrases and affixes.
Modern culture often brings with it an interest in acronyms as they become an increasingly prevalent way of shortening words and creating sound-bite phrases. Exploring their history can shed some light on their origins and help you understand the words you use daily better.
