The Possible Meanings Of The Lord Surname

I have so far been able to find two meanings of the Lord surname, they are 

'A Dictionary of English & Welsh Surnames'

Beardsley, Charles Waring, Oxford Union Press, 1901, pg 495,

Lord means 'the lord', 'the master', 'the head of the household'.

Also in use, 'master' and 'masterman'. The spellings ranged from Robert LeLoverd  (Oxford, 1273) ; to Roger LeLord (Cambridge, 1273).

By 1642, Lord is clearly used without the prefix. 

Another source is more fun.

'English Surnames: Their Sources and Significations'

Chs Wareing Beardsley, Chs Tuttle Co. Press, Rutland, Vermont , USA (no date), pg 173.

The name Lord, '...remain as a reminder of past glory...direct vestiges of popular outdoor pagantries and mock ceremonies...or...numberless nicknames our ancestors loved to give each  other, and in which practice all, high and low alike joined.'  So the person who played the 'Lord of the Manor' for instance may have been given the surname Lord.

Page 176 says, the church loved to be pompous, allowing the use of 'Le Cardinals' and Le Bishops'. These are 13th Century useage, when the church actively fed this desire for pagents and mock ceremonies (in an effort to keep the common populace in their place).


The practice of attaching one's occupation to a first name, and thus arriving at a surname, is quite ancient it seems. Baker means just that...a baker, etc. Apparently, Lord survived pretty much unchanged through the centuries, once the Le(s) and the La(s) were done away with.

 

If you have found any more possible meanings of the Lord surname, please let me know.