Origins of the Palliser name
The origins of the Palliser surname are in YORKSHIRE,
more particularly, the area between Ripon and Durham. Books on surnames give the meaning of
the name as "a maker of palings and fences." The addition of the 't',
as in Pallister,
refers to the feminine, or a "female maker of palings and fences".
However, I cannot imagine a female maker of palings
and fences in medieval times, unless it refers to a wife of a fencemaker, so I
have my doubts as to these origins.
Twentieth century French dictionaries also give the
meaning of pallisser
as "one who attaches a vine to a wall". It takes a short stretch of
the imagination, to see a link between a fence-maker, and attaching vines to
walls.
Early medieval documents show palicers as park-keepers, not,
of course, in the modern sense, of tending playgrounds and flowers, but of
overseeing and managing Royal Deer Parks, no doubt, mending any broken fences
along the way.
I have a couple of theories as to the origins of the
name, but until I have more concrete evidence, I shall keep my theories to
myself!
The above paragraph gives three variants of the name,
namely:
|
palicer |
Palliser |
pallisser |
Pallister |
There are others, and here are some of them.
|
Palaser |
Palesar |
Palesir |
Palester |
|
Palicer |
Palicor |
Palisar |
Paliser |
|
Palisor |
Palister |
Palistor |
Pallacer |
|
Pallacers |
Pallaser |
Pallasor |
Pallasour |
|
Pallerser |
Pallesar |
Palleser |
Pallesor |
|
Pallesser |
Pallester |
Pallistor |
Pallezer |
|
Pallicar |
Pallicer |
Pallicor |
Pallisar |
|
Palliser |
Pallisor |
Pallisser |
Pallissor |
|
Pallister |
Pallizer |
Pallsor |
Pallysar |
|
Pallyser |
Palser |
Palyser |
Talliser |
It just goes to show, when looking for a name, that you should try every
variant, and even different starting letters. Within this surname, may well be
included Ballister, for example, though I have made no study of that, and would
welcome information.
This variety of spellings, above, does not confine itself to one
particular family. Indeed, any one particular Palliser family, could be found
under half a dozen or more of these spellings, so it is no good insisting that
a name was always spelled a certain way. People often could not read or write,
so had no idea how to spell their own name. It depended on the whim, or
knowledge of the scribe who wrote it down, as to how it might be spelled.
The two principal surname spellings, however, are Palliser, and
Pallister, and there are regional differences for this. Many Pallisers whose origins
are in NORTH
YORKSHIRE, are spelled without the T. Many others whose origins are
in DURHAM,
or eastern YORKSHIRE,
are spelled with the T. Some families, however, seemed to have removed or added
T's themselves, later on. However, I have heard Yorkshire people pronounce the
name as Pallister, whether the name is spelled with the T or not.
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