Origins of the Surname Small/Smale By Sandy Gates The surname Small, as defined in A Dictionary Of Surnames, by Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges, is an English nickname for "a person of slender build or diminutive stature". Variations in spelling this name include: Smale ............................... Cornwall Smaile, Smiles................. Scotland Schmahl, Schmeling ......Low German Smal ..................................Flemish Smal(le), (De) Smaele.....Dutch Each time it became necessary to give a surname, a descriptive name was added to the Christian name. Use of the same descriptive name, or "byname", was determined by the frequency of use. When the same word was used, repeatedly, it became the hereditary family name. There are four classes of surnames: Local/Locality........Where the individual lived, or was from, such as John Wood. Occupational..........What the individual didi for a living, such as Thomas Baker. Patronymical.........The name of the father, such as Edward Robertson. Descriptive.............Nicknames Surnames of the the nickname class were given to the original bearer because of appearance, character, physical attribute, habit, condition, etc. Nicknames were the last class to become fixed surnames. In his book, The Story Of Our Names, Chapters 2 and 3, Elsdon C. Smith states it's impossible to say exactly when the surname/family name originated. There were no hereditary family names found, in England, before 1066. The lords, because they travelled more, felt the need of a surname to distinguish them from other lords of the same first name. They generally took the names of their estates; their sons eventually inheriting the name and the estate. Village communities were not the same; each had their own special customs. The manor consisted of peasant houses or cottages grouped around the manor house or hall, the parish church and the village green. The population of the manor was largely made up of villeins and servi/slaves. When not working for the lords, the villeins worked their own lands. There were two classes of villeins. The poorer class farmed 5-10 acres of land, or less. They may have only had a cottage. These people were called cotters. The servi/slaves eventually merged with the cotters. Having less land to work, the cotters had more free time and would work for hire. (The working class sprang from the cotters.) If an individual were a minor official, the clerk might list him as such. (John the reeve.) If the individual were an ordinary villein or cotter, and his father was still living and known by his ability or personality, the individual could again be listed as such. (John, "Robert's son".) Many English surnames originated from French words, because surnames began in the Middle Ages when French was the language used by all educated people in England. By the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, bynames/surnames, in England, had pretty much become hereditary family names. Before spelling became stabilized, alteration and mutation of names was to be expected. Ever since surnames became part of man's full name, they've been changed or corrupted by many influences. There were many causes for names being changed, among them slight variations in spelling, due to personal vanity, a change in national or local pronunciation, the use of additional letters, such as E or Y, arbitrary change, etc Elsdon C. Smith's Dictionary Of American Family Names defines Small or Smale as "The little or slender person." Please contact me if you have Web pages to link, information or ideas you would like to contribute to these pages.Carol LaRue (BACK) You are our 108 + [an error occurred while processing this directive]visitor since April 5, 1999 This page last updated Monday, 10-Sep-2018 16:39:38 MDT Web page by Carol LaRue © 1999 - 2001 Thanks to ROOTSWEB Genealogical Data Cooperative for Server Space and a great deal of support! Help support them in their mission to make FREE genealogical data available to us! Information on these pages is copy written and has been generously donated to assist your SMALL research. It may not be reproduced in any format for commercial profit. All rights reserved.