British Surnames/Royalty Descent?

Question

I was told these (or a majority) were British surnames. Also that some of them were related to British royalty. I think there was something about Plantagenet being British royalty too. Can someone tell me if any of these names are British royalty descent? Thanks

Audley

De Badlesmere

De Bohun

De Chaworth

De Geneville

De Martin

De Mortimer

Fitzalan

Fitz Lewis

Fitz Piers

Gosnell

Gosnold

Gosnolde

Gossenoll

Goushill

Naunton

Plantagenet

Touchet

Wingfield

Vesey

Answer 1

Plantagenet is definitely royalty starting with King Henry II though is was not used in his own time. He generally used FitzEmpress. Other royal names include: Stewart (James I of England and the VI of Scotland, same person)

Tudor of course

de Monfort  - Married Henry III's sister

de Mortimer

Grey - Jane, beheaded after 9 days as Queen

Most on your list I've seen but can't tell you the relationship to royalty.

Answer 2

@ Amethyst: What sort of dictionary gave you that pronunciation? That would be "plahn-thai-UH-neat" (assuming that you speak English with a dodgy American accent).

Answer 3

Plantagenet (pronounced Plan-tadge-e-net) was an English royal household.  So is definently a royal surname.

Although I cannot tell you which ones are Royal, I can tell you which ones certainly aren't.  Fitzalan, Fitz Lewis and Fitz Piers are not royal surnames.  Fitz means 'Son of' and there has been no royal Alans, lewises or pierses.  Fitzhenry, for example, would have been given to people who were sons of a Henry, perhaps a king.  De Mortimer, I believe certainly has royal blood amongst its family, however this is more to do with female royals marrying into the mortimer family (who were a very powerful middle age family).

The rest i am afraid i cannot help you with.

Answer 4

The royal dynasties with surnames would be: Plantagenet, Tudor, Stuart, & Windsor.  I'm not strictly sure Hanover or Saxe-Coburg-whatever (Edward VII) would be counted as a surname.

As for your list, only one married into the royal family, so far as I know--Mary de Bohun married Henry of Bolingbroke, aka Henry IV.

Most of the names are of old noble families in England, Wales, Ireland, and are Norman based (all of the de's & Fitzes for sure), though it's more often seen as Mortimer (Welsh Marches/borders)

I tend to give Plantagenet a more french pronounciation: plan-TAH-gen-ay, while the yourdictionary website offers this: plan taj′ə nit.  A difference in the last sound, I'd say

Wikipedia has this say about it: "The surname Plantagenêt has been retroactively applied to the descendants of Geoffrey of Anjou as they had used no surname. The first descendant of Geoffrey to use the surname was Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, father of both Edward IV and Richard III, who apparently assumed it about 1448."