Trying to find the origin of these last names?

Question

Virkula

Bunch

McCullough

Theese last names are from my boyfriends side of the family. Thanks

Answer 1

they are all polish.

Answer 2

This is from ancestry.com

Bunch

English: nickname for a hunchback, from Middle English bunche ‘hump’, ‘swelling’ (of unknown origin).

McCullough

Irish (especially Ulster): Anglicized form of the Gaelic surname Mac Cú Uladh, a patronymic from Cú Uladh ‘hound of Ulster’. Compare McNally, which is from Mac Con Uladh, genitive form of the same name. It has sometimes been erroneously associated with Gaelic cullach ‘wild boar’, and some families in County Sligo have translated it into English as Boar.

Virkula is Finnish.  Most seem tohave settled in SD.

Answer 3

Surname: Bunch

This very unusual surname recorded in the spellings of Bunch, Bunche and Bunce, is believed to be of Middle English pre 14th century origins. However it derives from the word 'bunche', itself a development of the German 'bunz', meaning a barrel. As such the name was probably a medieval nickname for a portly or rotund person, one who resembled a barrel, although it is also possible the name is occupational for a maker or user of a particular type of barrel, perhaps one associated with German wines which were becoming popular at that time. In defining the precise meaning of early surnames, one must be cautious about applying twentieth century translations to 13th century words, and it maybe that the original 'meaning' was quite different in context to today. What is certain is that names which had unpleasant connotations rarely became hereditary, whilst this surname is not only one of the earliest on record, as shown below, but has remained basically unchanged since. Early examples of the surname recording include William Bunche in the Subsidy Rolls of the county of Cambridge in 1327, whilst one of the first English settlers to the new colonies of the West Indies and Virginia was Joseph Bunce, who embarked from Gravesend, on the ship 'Peter Bonaventure of London', bound for Barbados. His subsequent fate is not known. A coat of arms also granted in Kent has the blazon of a blue field, on a fess between three silver boars, three blue eagles. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Geoffrey Bunch, which was dated 1195, the Pipe Rolls of the county of Northampton, during the reign of King Richard 1, known as 'The lionheart', 1189 - 1199.

Surname: Mccullough

This very interesting surname, now widespread in Ulster, is ultimately believed to be of Scottish origin, and an Anglicized form of the Old Scots Gaelic "MacCullaich" or "MacC(h)ullach", son of Cullach, from "Mac", son of, and the personal byname "Cullach", Boar. This wild animal takes a great deal of its significance from Norse mythology, and to it were attributed qualities of Courage and Fertility. Over the centuries, the boar has become associated with Bravery and Perseverance (in fighting), and consequently, "Cullach" would have been bestowed on an illustrious warrior or brave fighter. Early recordings of the surname from Scotland include: Michel Maculagh, who rendered homage to the King of England in 1296; Sir Patrick McCoulagh, charter witness in Galloway (1354); Helise Makcoulach, who married in 1478; and Patrick Makcowloch or Mackullouch, vicar of Arbroath, in 1482. In Petty's 1659 "census" of all Ireland, McCullough, M(a)cCullagh and M(a)cCullough are listed as among the principal surnames in the baronies of Antrim, Belfast, Carrickfergus and Toome in County Antrim, and Lower Iveagh in County Down. Here the name is Gaelicized "Mac Cu Uladh", son of the Hound of Ulster, and the Annals of Loch Ce tell us that in 1532, one Seamus Mac Con Uladh or MacCullagh was killed at Dunbo (County Derry). It is likely that "Mac Cullach" was altered by folk etymology to "Mac Cu Uladh" in Ulster, but it is interesting to note that in County Sligo Boars is still used as a synonym of McCullough. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Maculagh, which was dated 1296, in "Early Medieval Records of Wyggetone", (Wigtown), during the reign of John Balliol, Ruler of Scotland, 1292 - 1296.

Virkula appears to be a Finnish name at least.

International First Names in South-Slavonic Europe

Author(s): Johanna Virkkula

University of Helsinki, Finland

http://icos2008.yorku.ca/program/show_ab...

Kuopio, Eastern Finland.

Youth Hostel Virkkula (Retkeilymaja Virkkula).

http://wikitravel.org/en/Kuopio