Goldfinch

Goldfinch
Recorded in a variety of forms including Finch, Fink, Vink and Vinck, and the more coloured Goldfinch, this is an English surname. It is of Olde English pre 7th Century origins and has two possible interpretations. Firstly, it may be a metonymic occupational name for a breeder of finches or for one who caught finches and sold them as songsters. Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer and later became hereditary. The finch and particularly the Goldfinch is a bird noted or its bright plumage, so it may also have originated as a nickname for a colourful person or one with a beautiful singing voice. The creation of surnames from nicknames was common practice in the Middle Ages. The surname is first recorded in the mid 11th Century and early examples include: Gilbert le Finch in the Curia Regis Rolls for the county of Norfolk in 1205, and Agnes Goldfinche, in the Hundred Rolls for the county of Oxford in 1273. Frances Finch was recorded as being in the Virginia Colony of New England in 1620, before the arrival of the Pigrim Fathers in the same year. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Godric Finc. This was dated 1049, in the "Olde English Byname Register", during the reign of King Edward the Confessor, 1042-1066. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop", often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • Goldfinch — Gruppe Rambler Rose, Multiflora Hybride Herkunft England, 1907 Züchter …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Goldfinch — may refer to any of the following species of bird from the genus Carduelis * American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis * Lesser Goldfinch, Carduelis psaltria * Lawrence s Goldfinch, Carduelis lawrencei * European Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis …   Wikipedia

  • Goldfinch — Gold finch , n. [AS. goldfinc. See {Gold}, and {Finch}.] (Zo[ o]l.) (a) A beautiful bright colored European finch ({Carduelis elegans}). The name refers to the large patch of yellow on the wings. The front of the head and throat are bright red;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • goldfinch — from O.E. goldfinc; see GOLD (Cf. gold) + FINCH (Cf. finch) …   Etymology dictionary

  • goldfinch — ► NOUN ▪ a brightly coloured finch with a yellow patch on each wing …   English terms dictionary

  • goldfinch — [gōld′finch΄] n. [ME < OE goldfinc: see GOLD & FINCH] any of various yellow and black finches; esp., a Eurasian songbird (Carduelis carduelis) or an American species ( C. tristis) …   English World dictionary

  • goldfinch — /gohld finch /, n. 1. a European finch, Carduelis carduelis, having a crimson face and wings marked with yellow. 2. any of certain related American finches of the genus Carduelis, as C. tristis, the male of which has yellow body plumage in the… …   Universalium

  • goldfinch — noun A small passerine bird of the finch family; the European goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis, the American goldfinch, Carduelis tristis, Lawrences Goldfinch, Carduelis lawrencei, or the lesser goldfinch, Carduelis psaltria …   Wiktionary

  • goldfinch — UK [ˈɡəʊldˌfɪntʃ] / US [ˈɡoʊldˌfɪntʃ] noun [countable] Word forms goldfinch : singular goldfinch plural goldfinches a small bird with yellow feathers on its wings that is common in Europe …   English dictionary

  • goldfinch — noun a brightly coloured finch with yellow feathers in the plumage. [Carduelis carduelis (Eurasia), C. tristis (American goldfinch), and related species.] …   English new terms dictionary

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