Where does the surnames Crowther and Lathan and Guyan come from?

Question

My family is doing our family tree and our having a bit of trouble with the surnames Crowther, Lathan and Guyan all are on my mums side. We know the Guyans come from Scotland and the Crowthers from Newcastle and the Lathans I think from Sunderland.

We live in Sunderland and my mams great grandmother M. Crowther moved to sunderland when she married I.Lathan but any help with where the surnames come from will be greatly appreciated!!

Answer 1

All three names have multiple origins. You cannot base your genealogy on where a name originates, you can only trace your lineage by using public records, e.g. Birth, marriage and death certificates, parish records and census returns etc.

Surname: Crowther

This interesting name, with spellings Crowder, Crowther, Crother and Crewther, is of early medieval English origins. It is occupational and describes a muscian. It derives from the 12th century word "croude", related to the early Welsh "crwth", meaning a "crowd". This however was not a collection of people gathered together, but an early and popular bowed stringed instrument, bearing some resemblance to the later fiddle or even a violin. A quotation from St Luke XV. 25. reads, "But his eldre sone was in the feeld, and whanne he cam and neighede to the hous he herde a synfonye and a crowde". A further reference to the instrument appears in Spencer's Fairy Queen, which refers to "the pipe, the tabor, and the trembling crowd". The surname was first recorded in the late 13th Century (see below), and further early recordings include: Hugo le Crouder of Leicestershire, in 1278; Kenwick le Cruther of Cheshire, in 1289; and Katerina Crowder, recorded in the Poll Tax returns of Yorkshire in 1379. Hugh Crowder, who embarked from London on the ship "Bona Nova" in 1619, was recorded in a muster of the inhabitants of James City, Virginia, in that year. He was one of the earliest recorded settlers in New England colonies of America. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard le Cruder, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Kent", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307.

Surname: Lathan

Recorded in several spellings including Lathan, Layton, Latane, Latan, Laten, Latin, Lattin, Letten, and others, this is an English surname. It is locational from either the village of Lathom in Lancashire or the two Layton in North Yorkshire and Lancashire. It is easy to see how the surname derivations arise as Lathom is first recorded as Latune in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, is from pre 7th centure Norse-Viking 'hlaetha', meaning a barn. Layton in Yorkshire appears in the Domesday Book as Latton, from the Old English 'leac-tuna', or the leek farm, whilst Layton in Lancashire is recorded as Latun on the Domesday Book of 1086, and translates as the farm by the water course. Recordings of the surname taken from surviving church registers include Dorothie Latan who married Arthur Lowe at St Dunstans Stepney, East London, on October 20th 1622, Elizabeth Lattin who married Thomas Browne at St Bartholomew the Less, in the city of London, on February 17th 1668, and Christopher Letten who married Sarah Carrell at St Dunstans, Stepney, on December 9th 1697. An early recording is that of Henry Lathan. This is dated October 3rd 1574, at Ormskirk in Lancashire. and during the reign of Queen Elizabeth Ist. She was known as Good Queen Bess, 1558 - 1603.

Surname: Guyan

This interesting surname of usually French origins, is recorded in over fifty different spelling forms. These range for the traditional Guy, Guye, Guyan, and Guyon, to Why, Whye and Wyon, and Guido, Ghi, Gyde, Guet, Guidini and Ghidoli. It is recorded in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. However spelt and in whatever nationality, the surname shares the same origins. These are that firstly it may be an occupational name for a professional guide, a very important role in the ancient times when existing maps were not to be trusted if they existed at all, and signposts or marker stones, equally erratic. This derivation is from the pre 10th century Old French word "gui" meaning a professional guide, an example being John le Gy, in the Subsidy Rolls of Essex, England, in the year 1327. Secondly the name may derive from the personal name 'Guy', a French name of the 10th century, but one derived from the Germanic "Wido", of uncertain meaning. Thirdly the surname may derive from the Old High German word "witu" and the Old English pre 7th century "widu" or "wudu", meaning a wood, and therefore occupational for one living by such a place. The baptismal name in the forms Wi, Why, and Guy, was very popular with the Norman-French, and these were reflected in the later English spellings of Guye, Whye, etc. Examples of the surname spelling taken from authentic records include Richard Guye, recorded in the London Rolls of 1384, and Guido Guidonis, at Birwinken im Thrugau, Germany, in 1390. One of the earliest settlers to the new colonies of America was William Guy, aged 18 years, who on 2nd January 1634, sailed from London, bound for Virginia. The first recorded spelling of the family name anywhere in the world is believed to be that of Richard Wi, which was dated 1188 in the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire, England.