Surnames and History

Tim Nau

Tim Nau has lectured widely on names both in Canada and abroad. He has published many articles on names in magazines, learned journals and newspapers and made more than a hundred broadcasts on CBC radio. He was for five years the books editor of Onomastica Canadiana and has served on the executive of the Canadian Society for the Study of Names. Tim also lectures on medieval history and has taught at Brock University, Ryerson University and the University of Waterloo.  

Surnames and History

Everyone has a surname and every surname has a story. Mr Smith used to smite things. Mr Madison was the son of a woman named Maud. Mr Small was small in stature. And Mr Hill lived near a hill. In time, such names for individuals became the surnames of today. This lecture will use a set of surnames familiar to TALYR participants to paint a portrait of medieval society.

 This event is part of the Fall 2018 Speaker series.