Guest Post: What's In A Name?

Recent attempts to satisfy my urge to research family history have led me to continue investigating the family name “Lunsford,” and its derivatives. So, I settled on re-researching a curious item I had stumbled upon previously…The 1850 census record shows that Baldwin was illiterate, which caused me to wonder if he spoke fluent English. Many times, census records are vague or inaccurate when it comes to listing birthplaces, so I wondered if the name might be German or French. This led me to look for the existence of a European town, or other geographic feature that might be named, or provide the name, for our family.

While cruising around on Google Earth one day, I tried putting the name Lunsford in the search bar. The location that came closest to matching was, “Lünsfeld,” (roughly pronounced, “loonz’-felt.”) When I zoomed in on the location it showed a small farming area that had mostly been absorbed by the city of, Freren, Germany. Curiosity about the name of the area led me to look up the definition of the German word, “lüns,” which was an old/ancient word meaning, “the pointed tip of a tool, or lance.” The definition of “feld” is simply, “field.” I looked at the original Lünsfeld area on the satellite image and saw there is a field there with a triangular shape, like a lance point. Similarly, the Dutch word, “luns,” and the German word “lünse” both translate to, “Linchpin,” a wedge-shaped piece of iron often used on wagons to hold a wheel on an axle.

 Searching for the name, “Lünsfeld” also brought up a Dutch genealogy for the name, “Lünsveld,” the word, “veld,” translates to, “field, or land,” in Dutch. In the same genealogy, the name was also spelled, “Lijnsveld.” “Lijns,” means, “line’” in Dutch. So, its rough meaning could be, “Line field; maybe property line or border, or strip of land.” Any connection to any of these names is pure conjecture on my part, but it has always interested me how similar “Lunsford” is to the place-name, “Lünsfeld.” Given the geographic connections to Western-Europe that show up in Lunsford family DNA results, it seems our name is quite universal, phonetically speaking.

 A cross-search provided the German place name, “Lüneburg,” on Wikipedia, it shows, ‘An older reference to the place in the Frankish Imperial annals dated 795 states:…ad fluvium Albim pervenit ad locum, qui dicitur Hliuni... i.e. …on the river Elbe, at the location, which is called “Hliuni”) and refers to one of the three core settlements of Lüneburg; probably the castle on the Kalkburg which was the seat of the Billunger nobles from 951. The Elbe-Germanic name, Hliuni corresponds to the Lombard word for “refuge site.”’**https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Lüneburg** Ignoring any rules for proper etymology, and just sticking the words together, the name given here from the Low German (old Saxony) for a refuge site, “Hliuni” added to the Low German word for a water crossing, “Ford, or Vörde” would give a very rough version of the name, “Luneford,” possibly meaning, “safe or sheltered, water crossing,” or a, “passage by a ford."

More searching within the area near Freren, we find the area called, “Lünne.” The etymology given within the history found on the German Wikipedia page for Lünne, states that “Lunne (Old North Hlunne=Role) referred to Old Saxon, a place on the river (here over the strong flowing Aa), at which, by means of underlain timber, loads over the river could be brought.” [Badly translated to English by the site.] Further in the article, Lünne is more clearly identified and in the 13^th century, the location was divided between Altenlünne, and Plantlünne. The word “alte” means old. The word “plant” is not entirely clear, but could mean new foundations. An additional link within the article leads to the town called, “Haselünne.” It states, “Around 500 AD, a Saxon main courtyard was located in the area of today’s farm. In the nearby river a ford was built by inserting roundwoods (poles or piles, maybe?). These round woods were called “lunni” and they gave the place the name “Lunni,” “Lunne,” and with the river name, “Hassa” = dark water, later = hare [as in hassenpfeffer], finally the name Haselünne.” Further searching brought me to an additional definition of lunne as a name for passage, or a crossing.

Early versions of the name can be taken from some 17^th century English pedigrees. The name “de Londresford” had appeared in earlier research on the family of Sir Thomas as possibly Saxon, in origin. The name is mentioned within some of the Coppage family information. The Coppage family claim descent from Sir Thomas Lunsford through, “his son,” William Lunsford, Esq. William, Esq. appears in the list of 65 passengers brought to Virginia by Sir Thomas in about 1649-50. There is no confirmation that this William was Sir Tom’s son, nor whether this William survived after their arrival. More specifically, the name “de Londresford” appears within the Sussex Archaeological Collections, Vol 24; pp. 18-20. The French word “Londres” translates to London, and Londinium, the Roman name given to the city. It was also used by most ancient European countries with the same meaning.

The early family was situated at Londresford (later Lunsford) in Etchingham parish, Sussex before the Norman Conquest in 1066. The place that was called, “Londresford” is now called, “Lundsford Farm” and is located at Etchingham, Sussex. By the turn of the 12^th century, they were also established at Whilegh, in East Hoathly, Sussex. Old Wilegh is now a Bed and Breakfast. In 1989, my wife and I visited a place called, “Lunsford Farm,” which is located near Pett, East Sussex. The house there was said to have been built by the grandfather of Sir Thomas, Sir John in the 1500’s. This working farm is now owned by the Dunlop family where they also feature a “glamping” experience on the property. Lunsford’s Cross is located near Bexhill, it’s almost halfway between Lunsford Farm and East Hoathly where Whiley is located. It may have been the site of an early Lunsford manor house. Maybe a stopping point when traveling between the two estates? The term Cross was often used when a village had permission by the ruling Lord to open a market.

We know that the name has evolved quite a bit over the centuries; de Londresford, Lunsford, Luxford, Luncford, Lunceford, etc. And all these derivations can be traced back to the pages of English history without question. But, where was the seat of the Old Saxon de Londresford ancestors before they were in Sussex? It’s entirely possible that the formerly Saxon places called Lünsfeld, or Lünne, might be trying to remind us of our roots.

Tim Lunceford

Independence, MO