Languages

Old English

Also written or known as Olde English

The language of Anglo-Saxon England, spoken from about 450 to 1100.

Old English is the ancestor of modern English. Many surnames come from Old English words for places, landscape features and trades, such as "broc" (brook), "leah" (clearing) and "smið" (smith). SurnameDB's histories often write it as "Olde English".