Marilyn's Photos - Ocy 8 2025 - White, Gray, Black, and Green
The Bright Side
What do these colours have in common? They are all surnames. There are lots of surnames that are colours. There is also violet, purple, beige, and yellow. Black, white and brown are supposedly associated with the colour of skin and hair. Green would be associated with a village green or people working in occupations such as gardener (why not call them gardeners?)
It turns out it is very simple: colour names come out of physical traits, occupations or geographical landmarks.
While surnames first emerged in China, there’s no indication of colour surnames originating there. Ancient Greece and Rome had systems for assigning names based on family and clan associations.
We know more about Europe in the Middle Ages when things started getting widely recorded. The first recorded surname was “descendant of the clerk” - O’Clery in 916. The system of fixed and hereditary surnames became widespread with the Normal barons after 1066.
So I guess there’s something geographical or occupational about Violet for it to be a surname, and here it is:
French: topographic name from a diminutive of viol ‘path’, itself a derivative of vie ‘way’, or a habitational name from (Le) Violet, the name of several places in various parts of France. It is also found in Germany as a surname of Huguenot origin. Compare Violette. 2. English: altered form of Violett. Some characteristic forenames: French Christophe, Pierre.
And can you guess the origin of Pink?
“It was of early medieval origin, and derives from a nickname given to a bright, chirpy, person, thought to be as active and cheerful as a chaffinch. The derivation is from the Olde English pre 7th Century word "pinca", in Middle English "pinch" or "pink".
There are many marvels to be found in every day things. This is a garden labyrinth carved in stone.
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