# Origin/etymology of surname 'Eighteen' **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 29, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886 "2010-08-29T15:48:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/1 "2010-08-29T15:48:48Z")
Where does the English surname ‘Eighteen’ originate from? Is it English in origin or does it have a non-English origin? Is it from the number or is it etymology different? I must add I live in Berkshire in the UK where this surname is pretty rare, but I know of several (AFAIK unrelated people) with this surname all from Berkshire. It may just be a fairly localized surname. What intrigues me though is that I have never heard of any other numbers as surnames, (excepting the [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533231) that inspired this one). ---
**Author:** ![kim\_jung\_il](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@kim\_jung\_il](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kim_jung_il)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/2 "2010-08-29T16:18:31Z")
According to [here](http://www.nationaltrustnames.org.uk/Map.aspx?name=EIGHTEEN&year=1998&altyear=1881&country=GB&type=name) it is most common in Reading, Peterborough and Guilford. Why? I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/3 "2010-08-29T16:34:03Z")
> **[Surname Database: Eighteen Last Name Origin](https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Eighteen)** > > Last name meaning Eighteen: Recorded in many surname spellings including Ayton, Eaton, Eton, Eyton, Iton, Iteen and apparently the extraordinary Eighteen, this interesting name is usually of Olde English and Anglo-Saxon pre 7th century origins... It is a locational surname deriving from any one of the numerous places called Eaton, Eton, and Ayton, found in several counties of England. Most of these places are named from the Olde English words “ea”, meaning river, and “tun”, a farm or settlement. They are variously recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086 in the spellings of Etone, Etune, Ettuna, and Ettone. It is therefore easy to see how the later surname spellings developed over the centuries. However there is also a probablity that at least some of the later surname spellings developed from the French name “Etienne” or "Estienne. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/4 "2010-08-29T16:34:38Z")
> [@These are my own pants](#): > > Where does the English surname ‘Eighteen’ originate from? Is it English in origin or does it have a non-English origin? Is it from the number or is it etymology different? > > I must add I live in Berkshire in the UK where this surname is pretty rare, but I know of several (AFAIK unrelated people) with this surname all from Berkshire. It may just be a fairly localized surname. > > What intrigues me though is that I have never heard of any other numbers as surnames, (excepting the [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533231) that inspired this one). Hmmm… “Eighteen” is a very common Hebrew first name since it also spells “life” (Chaim/Haim). Because of that, eighteen in Judaism is considered a _lucky_ number. You give charity in units of eighteen, and it was considered a good time to get married. Wonder if the surname “Eighteen” has anything to do with this… ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/5 "2010-08-29T17:11:34Z")
> [@kim\_jung\_il](#): > > According to [here](http://www.nationaltrustnames.org.uk/Map.aspx?name=EIGHTEEN&year=1998&altyear=1881&country=GB&type=name) it is most common in Reading, Peterborough and Guilford. > > Why? I don’t know. That doesn’t suprise me as everyone I know of with the surname is from Reading. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/6 "2010-08-29T17:15:14Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > [SurnameDB | Eighteen Surname: Meaning, Origin & Family History](http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Eighteen) > > It is a locational surname deriving from any one of the numerous places called Eaton, Eton, and Ayton, found in several counties of England. Most of these places are named from the Olde English words “ea”, meaning river, and “tun”, a farm or settlement. They are variously recorded in the famous Domesday Book of 1086 in the spellings of Etone, Etune, Ettuna, and Ettone. It is therefore easy to see how the later surname spellings developed over the centuries. However there is also a probablity that at least some of the later surname spellings developed from the French name “Etienne” or "Estienne. Well that’s pretty much answered my question. The largest and most famous twon called ‘Eton’ is in Berkshire. My guess was that it might be from somewhere like ‘Haighton’, so I wasn’t too far off. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/7 "2010-08-29T17:16:24Z")
Off topic but does the name Ten Eyck relate to Eighteen at all? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/8 "2010-08-29T18:11:54Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Off topic but does the name Ten Eyck relate to Eighteen at all? Ten Eyck is Dutch. There was a [recent thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533231) about a similar surname, in which “Ten Eyck” is actually mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/9 "2010-08-29T19:06:39Z")
> [@These are my own pants](#): > > What intrigues me though is that I have never heard of any other numbers as surnames, (excepting the [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533231) that inspired this one). The current archbishop of Paris is André Vingt-Trois. His last name in English is “Twenty-Three.” For his case, though, it is believed that his name does come from the number itself. It seems that one of his ancestors was abandoned as an infant. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/10 "2010-08-29T19:58:29Z")
> [@These are my own pants](#): > > Where does the English surname ‘Eighteen’ originate from? Is it English in origin or does it have a non-English origin? Is it from the number or is it etymology different? > > I must add I live in Berkshire in the UK where this surname is pretty rare, but I know of several (AFAIK unrelated people) with this surname all from Berkshire. It may just be a fairly localized surname. > > What intrigues me though is that I have never heard of any other numbers as surnames, (excepting the [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533231) that inspired this one). I knew a family whose last name was Twelves. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/11 "2010-08-30T03:59:03Z")
The legend goes that the ancestor of Spain’s Diezyocho family was a friend of Cervantes. He borrowed the manuscript of _Don Quixote_ and got so into it he read it eighteen times before returning. The spelling as I saw it printed was “Diezyocho;” I don’t know, but that may have been a 17th-century spelling of _dieciocho_ (eighteen). Of course, spelling it _diez y ocho_ makes the etymology transparent. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/12 "2010-08-30T04:14:22Z")
> [@qazwart](#): > > > [@These are my own pants](#): > > > > Where does the English surname ‘Eighteen’ originate from? Is it English in origin or does it have a non-English origin? Is it from the number or is it etymology different? > > > > I must add I live in Berkshire in the UK where this surname is pretty rare, but I know of several (AFAIK unrelated people) with this surname all from Berkshire. It may just be a fairly localized surname. > > > > What intrigues me though is that I have never heard of any other numbers as surnames, (excepting the [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533231) that inspired this one). > > Hmmm… > > “Eighteen” is a very common Hebrew first name since it also spells “life” (Chaim/Haim). Because of that, eighteen in Judaism is considered a _lucky_ number. You give charity in units of eighteen, and it was considered a good time to get married. > > Wonder if the surname “Eighteen” has anything to do with this… 😕 The word “chai” has the numerical value of eighteen, but it doesn’t actually _mean_ eighteen. The Hebrew word for eighteen is _shmonah-esreh_. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/13 "2010-08-30T08:24:15Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > The legend goes that the ancestor of Spain’s Diezyocho family was a friend of Cervantes. He borrowed the manuscript of _Don Quixote_ and got so into it he read it eighteen times before returning. The spelling as I saw it printed was “Diezyocho;” I don’t know, but that may have been a 17th-century spelling of _dieciocho_ (eighteen). Of course, spelling it _diez y ocho_ makes the etymology transparent. According to the [National Institute of Statistics](http://www.ine.es/fapel/FAPEL.INICIO), neither such lastname exists, or at least neither one has 5 people in any of Spain’s provinces and territories. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/14 "2010-08-31T13:54:27Z")
Must have been fiction reported as fact, then. Or maybe the family name died out. It happens. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/15 "2010-08-31T13:58:25Z")
I just want to point out that I have _never_ heard of “Eighteen” as a surname. Or any other number, for that matter. The thread title struck me – still strikes me – as surreal. I’ll bet most Dopers feel the same. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/16 "2010-08-31T14:04:43Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > The legend goes that the ancestor of Spain’s Diezyocho family was a friend of Cervantes. He borrowed the manuscript of _Don Quixote_ and got so into it he read it eighteen times before returning. Or was an over-enthusiastic member of Real Madrid’s Windmill Jousting team. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-etymology-of-surname-eighteen/551886/17 "2010-08-31T20:30:56Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > > [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > > > Off topic but does the name Ten Eyck relate to Eighteen at all? > > Ten Eyck is Dutch. There was a [recent thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533231) about a similar surname, in which “Ten Eyck” is actually mentioned. Thanks, will check it out.