Eddy (surname)
Encyclopedia
The surname
Eddy is used by descendants of a number of English, Irish and Scottish families.
ed and ea, "backwards" and "water", a whirlpool or eddy
, making the surname Eddy a place-name. Another possible origin is the Saxon root ead, "success" or "prosperity". Ead occurs in numerous commonly used names, as Edgar, Edmund, Edward, Edwin, and the outdated Edwy. John Eddy of Taunton spells the name Eddway in the earliest record so far found. Eddy could also be a diminutive of any one of these names. Robert Ferguson, in his work on English Surnames, believes that Eddy is a place-name: “Eday, Eady, Eddy are from ead, prosperity. Hence the name of the rock Eddiston
, on which the celebrated light house is built. From this word are compounded a great number of Anglo-Saxon
names of which we have Edward, Edmund, Edgar,Edw Edwin.”
ized into Eddius
. He went to Northumbria
from Canterbury
with Bishop Wilfrid
(or Wilfrith) in 669, and later took the name Stephanus. He taught the Roman method of chanting, and in 709 he was in the monastery of Ripon
, where he wrote a life of Wilfrid in Latin.
In the Domesday Book
, the name Eddeu is used in a description of Little Abington, Cambridgeshire, and during the time of Edward the First
there were a number of people named Ede, Edde, and Edwy on the tax collection rolls of Worcestershire. There is a record in Hertfordshire
, of a William Edy, Gentleman, in 1486. Edie, Eddy, Eddye, Edshune and Edye are found in numerous records in Gloucestershire from 1545 onward. At Woodbridge, Suffolk
, Eyde is found as a surname between 1599 and 1610.
Starting from 1570 in the records of many parishes of the Archdeaconry Court of Cornwall
, the following surnames are found: Edy, Eady, Eedy, Ede, Edye, Eddey, and Eddy. In Bristol
, the town where William Eddye, the Vicar, was born, a number of wills from the late 16th century have the surname of Eddie, Eddye or Eddy. Ade, Adie, Addy, Eadie are common Scottish surnames. These may be forms of the name “Adam
”. David Eadie of Moneaght, Scotland, was granted a coat of arms in 1672.
, England, from 1586–1616 and was born in Bristol
in the mid-16th century. Other Northern American "patriarchs" are John Eddy who lived in Taunton, Massachusetts
in the late 17th century; John Eddy of Woodbridge, New Jersey, (Scottish) who immigrated in the early 18th century; James Eddy, born in Dublin, Ireland, around 1712, and immigrated in 1753; Thomas Eddy, immigrated in the late 18th century to Fort Ann, New York
, from Ireland; brothers William and John Eddy, immigrated from Ireland to New York city in the mid 19th century; and William Dave Eddy, who came to the United States from Cornwall, England, in 1887. There is a currently large family of Eddys in Cornwall.
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
Eddy is used by descendants of a number of English, Irish and Scottish families.
Etymology
Frank R. Holmes, in his Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families, 1600-1700, proposes two possible origins; the Gaelic eddee, "instructor", or from the SaxonSaxon language
Saxon language may refer to:* Any of the languages of the Saxons, a Germanic people:** Old English language, Anglo-Saxon, the ancestor of modern English** Old Saxon, the ancestor language of Low Saxon** Middle Low Saxon, language of the Hanseatic League...
ed and ea, "backwards" and "water", a whirlpool or eddy
Eddy (fluid dynamics)
In fluid dynamics, an eddy is the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle. The moving fluid creates a space devoid of downstream-flowing fluid on the downstream side of the object...
, making the surname Eddy a place-name. Another possible origin is the Saxon root ead, "success" or "prosperity". Ead occurs in numerous commonly used names, as Edgar, Edmund, Edward, Edwin, and the outdated Edwy. John Eddy of Taunton spells the name Eddway in the earliest record so far found. Eddy could also be a diminutive of any one of these names. Robert Ferguson, in his work on English Surnames, believes that Eddy is a place-name: “Eday, Eady, Eddy are from ead, prosperity. Hence the name of the rock Eddiston
Eddystone Lighthouse
Eddystone Lighthouse is on the treacherous Eddystone Rocks, south west of Rame Head, United Kingdom. While Rame Head is in Cornwall, the rocks are in Devon and composed of Precambrian Gneiss....
, on which the celebrated light house is built. From this word are compounded a great number of Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
names of which we have Edward, Edmund, Edgar,Edw Edwin.”
Early history
One of the first mentions that is close to the form of Eddy, is the name of the priest Eddi or Edde, LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
ized into Eddius
Eddius
Stephen of Ripon is the author of the eighth-century Vita Sancti Wilfrithi . Another name which has been traditionally attributed to him is Eddius Stephanus or Æddi Stephanus, but since his identification with the bearer of this name is no longer accepted by historians today, modern usage tends to...
. He went to Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
from Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
with Bishop Wilfrid
Wilfrid
Wilfrid was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Gaul, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and became the abbot of a newly founded monastery at Ripon...
(or Wilfrith) in 669, and later took the name Stephanus. He taught the Roman method of chanting, and in 709 he was in the monastery of Ripon
Ripon
Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...
, where he wrote a life of Wilfrid in Latin.
In the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, the name Eddeu is used in a description of Little Abington, Cambridgeshire, and during the time of Edward the First
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
there were a number of people named Ede, Edde, and Edwy on the tax collection rolls of Worcestershire. There is a record in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, of a William Edy, Gentleman, in 1486. Edie, Eddy, Eddye, Edshune and Edye are found in numerous records in Gloucestershire from 1545 onward. At Woodbridge, Suffolk
Woodbridge, Suffolk
Woodbridge is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England. It is in the East of England, not far from the coast. It lies along the River Deben, with a population of about 7,480. The town is served by Woodbridge railway station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft East Suffolk Line. Woodbridge is twinned with...
, Eyde is found as a surname between 1599 and 1610.
Starting from 1570 in the records of many parishes of the Archdeaconry Court of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, the following surnames are found: Edy, Eady, Eedy, Ede, Edye, Eddey, and Eddy. In Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, the town where William Eddye, the Vicar, was born, a number of wills from the late 16th century have the surname of Eddie, Eddye or Eddy. Ade, Adie, Addy, Eadie are common Scottish surnames. These may be forms of the name “Adam
Adam (name)
-People with the given name Adam:* Adam of Ebrach , German abbot and historian* Adam , Spanish churchman* Adam , stage name of Mohd Aizam Mat Saman...
”. David Eadie of Moneaght, Scotland, was granted a coat of arms in 1672.
The surname in North America
In North America, the largest family group who bears the Eddy surname are descended from two brothers, John and Samuel, who immigrated to American on October 29, 1630 on a ship called Handmaid. Their father, William Eddye, was the Vicar of the church in CranbrookCranbrook
-People:* Earl of Cranbrook, title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom** Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook , British Conservative politician** John Stewart Gathorne-Hardy, 2nd Earl of Cranbrook , Conservative Member of Parliament...
, England, from 1586–1616 and was born in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
in the mid-16th century. Other Northern American "patriarchs" are John Eddy who lived in Taunton, Massachusetts
Taunton, Massachusetts
Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located south of Boston, east of Providence, north of Fall River and west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River...
in the late 17th century; John Eddy of Woodbridge, New Jersey, (Scottish) who immigrated in the early 18th century; James Eddy, born in Dublin, Ireland, around 1712, and immigrated in 1753; Thomas Eddy, immigrated in the late 18th century to Fort Ann, New York
Fort Ann, New York
Fort Ann, New York may refer to:* Fort Ann , New York* Fort Ann , New York...
, from Ireland; brothers William and John Eddy, immigrated from Ireland to New York city in the mid 19th century; and William Dave Eddy, who came to the United States from Cornwall, England, in 1887. There is a currently large family of Eddys in Cornwall.
Notables of this name
- C. M. Eddy, Jr.C. M. Eddy, Jr.Clifford Martin Eddy, Jr. was an American author best known for his horror and supernatural short stories. He is best remembered for his work in Weird Tales magazine.- Career :...
, a short story writer - Duane EddyDuane EddyDuane Eddy is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he had a string of hit records, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young"...
, a guitarist - Fannyann EddyFannyann EddyFannyann Viola Eddy was an activist for lesbian and gay rights in her native Sierra Leone and throughout Africa. In 2002, she founded the Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association, the first of its kind in Sierra Leone. She traveled widely, addressing the United Nations and other international groups...
, lesbian human rights defender, Sierra Leone - Jerome Eddy, the name of two politicians
- John A. Eddy, astronomer
- Mary Baker EddyMary Baker EddyMary Baker Eddy was the founder of Christian Science , a Protestant American system of religious thought and practice religion adopted by the Church of Christ, Scientist, and others...
, the American founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist church (often referred to as Christian Scientist) - Nelson EddyNelson EddyNelson Ackerman Eddy was an American singer and actor who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclubs. A classically trained baritone, he is best remembered for the eight films in which he costarred...
, American singer - Sean EddySean EddySean R. Eddy is a scientist who leads a research group at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Farm Research Campus in Virginia, with interests in bioinformatics, computational biology and biological sequence analysis...
, bioinformatician - Thomas EddyThomas EddyThomas Eddy was an American merchant, banker, philanthropist and politician from New York.-Early life:...
(1758–1827), NY merchant, philanthropist and politician - William A. EddyWilliam A. EddyWilliam Alfred "Bill" Eddy was a U.S. minister to Saudi Arabia , university professor and college president , and United States Marine Corps officer—serving in World War I and World War II, and U.S...
, American academic and intelligence officer