Fitz (pronounced "fits") was a

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

indicator used in

Anglo-Norman England The territory today known as England became inhabited more than 800,000 years ago, as the discovery of stone tools and footprints at Happisburgh in Norfolk have indicated.; "Earliest footprints outside Africa discovered in Norfolk" (2014). B ...

to help distinguish individuals by identifying their immediate predecessors. Meaning "son of", it would precede the father's forename, or less commonly a title held by the father. In rare cases, it formed part of a

matronymic A matronymic is a personal name or a parental name based on the given name of one's mother, grandmother, or any female ancestor. It is the female equivalent of a patronymic. Around the world, matronymic surnames are far less common than patrony ...

to associate the bearer with a more prominent mother. Convention among modern historians is to represent the word as ''fitz'', but in the original

Norman French Norman or Norman French (, , Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a '' langue d'oïl'' spoken in the historical and cultural region of Normandy. The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to describe the administrative languages of '' Angl ...

documentation, it appears as ''fiz'', ''filz'', or similar forms, deriving from the

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

noun ''filz'', ''fiz'' (French ''fils''), meaning "son of", and ultimately from Latin ''filius'' (son). Its use during the period of English surname adoption (following the Norman conquest) led to its incorporation into patronymic surnames, and at later periods this form was adopted by English kings for the surnames given some of their recognized illegitimate children, and by Irish families when Anglicisation of names, anglicizing their Gaelic patronymic surnames.

Origin

In Anglo-Norman England, the

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

and nobility were distinguished when named in contemporary documents in one of several ways. For example, some were further identified using a toponymic, which indicated their feudal holdings or the location of their origin, such as with

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

's adviser Roger de Beaumont ( 1015–1094), ('Roger of Beaumont'). For others an indication of their societal role was given, as with Robert Despenser (Robert 'the steward'), or a nickname like Alan Rufus (Alan 'the Red'). Finally, some were distinguished simply by associating them with their father's name, some of which used the ''fitz'' element. Thus ''fitz Bernard'' would indicate the person so referred was "son of Bernard". In its original usage, this was part of the personal name of the bearer, and would change in each generation: Domesday landholder John fitz Richard was father of Eustace fitz John, followed in successive generations by Richard fitz Eustace and John fitz Richard. In certain cases, it is the title of the father that would form part of a ''fitz'' patronymic form. This is seen, for example, with Otuer fitz Count, illegitimate son of Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester (the continental title ''count'' being the equivalent of the English ''earl''), while several illegitimate children of the Norman and early Angevin kings were called ''

fitz Roy Monte Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, or simply Mount Fitz Roy) is a mountain in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile.Henry fitz Roy, son of Henry I, and Richard fitz Roy, son of king John. As family identity strengthened, these personal patronymics evolved into patronymic surnames, locking into a particular form passed unchanged to successive family members independent of the given names in each generation, such as with the FitzAlan family, who used that surname from the mid-12th century, though more frequently the generational patronymic forms were abandoned in favor of a toponymic. In some cases the Fitz surnames have preserved pet forms of the paternal name, such as FitzGibbon or FitzHarris (representing pet forms of Gilbert and Henry, respectively). There are also examples of the Fitz surname element appearing alone, either as a shortening of an original full patronymic surname, or originally distinguishing a son from his father of the same name (Roger ''fitz'', Roger 'the son'), then used by descendants as a hereditary surname. In some circumstances, it was instead the mother who was memorialized in a ''fitz'' name form, making it a

. This is seen with the name of a noteworthy mother, as with William fitz Empress, Robert fitz Wimarc, and Robert fitz Pernell, a byname of

Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester (died circa 21 October 1204) ( Latinized to ''de Bellomonte'' ("from the beautiful mountain")) was an English nobleman, the last of the Beaumont earls of Leicester. He is sometimes known as Robert FitzP ...

, or to distinguish like-named brothers with different mothers, such as Robert fitz Edith, born to Henry I's mistress

Edith Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning ''wiktionary:strife, strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English language, Englis ...

and distinct from another of the king's bastards born to a different mother,

Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester (c. 1090 – 31 October 1147 David Crouch, 'Robert, first earl of Gloucester (b. c. 1090, d. 1147)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200Retrieved 1 ...

Irish usage

The use of the term "Fitz" in Ireland had two independent origins. The Irish surname FitzGerald, for example, is thought to derive from Gerald de Windsor, a Cambro-Norman nobleman whose son and grandson were involved in the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land in Ireland over which the monarchs of England then claimed sovereignty. The Anglo-Normans ...

. However, other forms, such as Fitzpatrick, were of native Irish origin. This name is an anglicization of the Gaelic patronymic surname Mac Giolla Phádraig, the name changed by monarchical decree of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

as part of the family's submission under the Crown's

surrender and regrant During the Tudor conquest of Ireland (c.1540–1603), "surrender and regrant" was the legal mechanism by which Irish clans were to be converted from a power structure rooted in clan and kin loyalties, to a late-Feudalism, feudal system under t ...

policy throughout the 1530s and 1540s.

Revival

Starting in the Stuart era (1603–1714), there was a revival of the adoption of fitz surname forms, particularly for illegitimate children of kings, princes, or high nobility. For example, ''Fitzroy'' for the children of Charles II and one of his mistresses, the Duchess of Cleveland; FitzJames, for the illegitimate children of king James II (1685–1688) and Arabella Churchill;

FitzClarence The FitzClarence family was an illegitimate branch of the House of Hanover. Prince William, Duke of Clarence and St Andrews, who later became William IV of the United Kingdom, King William IV of the United Kingdom, had at least ten children with ...

for those of Duke of Clarence, later King

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

(1830–1837) by Mrs. Jordan; and FitzGeorge, for the sons born to the legally prohibited marriage of

Prince George, Duke of Cambridge Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (George William Frederick Charles; 26 March 1819 – 17 March 1904) was a member of the British royal family, a grandson of King George III and cousin of Queen Victoria. The Duke was an army officer by professio ...

(1819–1904) with Sarah Fairbrother, who would refer to herself as Mrs. FitzGeorge. This practice by the late royalty gave rise to the erroneous belief that historical instances of Fitz surnames also denoted illegitimacy, which was not the case. In 1834, the Baronet Sir Robert Wygram obtained royal licence to make "a fanciful alteration" of his surname to Fitzwygram.

In the arts

In the arts, the prefix ''Fitz'' has been used to connote nobility.

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

's ''

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' ( ) by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in December 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. It marked a shift away from Scott's prior practice of setting stories in Scotland and in the more ...

'' includes a Lord Waldemar Fitzurse, a noble advisor of prince John.

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

's play '' The Devil Is an Ass'' includes the eccentric and foolish Norfolk squire named Fabian Fitzdottrell, a name evoking the dotterel, viewed by Jacobeans as a foolish bird, while

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope ( ; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among the best-known of his 47 novels are two series of six novels each collectively known as the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire ...

's 1862 novel '' Orley Farm'' features the fictional rakishly aristocratic figure Lord John Fitzjoly. In Jane Austen's famous novel ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is the second published novel (but third to be written) by English author Jane Austen, written when she was age 20-21, and later published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabe ...

'', a major character is named Fitzwilliam Darcy. More recently, Robin Hobb has written a series of fictional fantasy novels featuring a royal bastard, the assassin FitzChivalry 'Fitz' Farseer.

Examples

Historic persons

Medieval

* Turstin FitzRolf (fl. 1066) *

William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Breteuil ( 1011 – 22 February 1071), was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. FitzOsbern was created Earl of Herefo ...

(1020–1071), a relative and close counsellor of

* Pain fitzJohn before 110010 July 1137 * William FitzRalph (1140–1200) the

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests The Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests is a position established by the Normans in England. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in t ...

from 1169 to 1177 * Fulk I FitzWarin (died 1170/1), son of Warin of Metz, and progeny of same name (see

Baron FitzWarin Baron FitzWarin (also written FitzWaryn, FitzWarine, and other spellings) was a title in the Peerage of England created by writ of summons for Fulk V FitzWarin in 1295. His family had been magnates for nearly a century, at least since 1205 whe ...

) surviving until Fulk XI FitzWarin, 7th Baron FitzWarin (1405–1420) *

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

(died 1189), son of

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

, known as Henry FitzEmpress * Reginald Fitzurse (1145–1173) *

(died 1204, alias Robert FitzPernel) * Robert FitzWalter, 1st Baron FitzWalter (1247–1326) *Ivo FitzWaryn (1347–1414) whose daughter, Alice, married

Richard Whittington Richard Whittington ( March 1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal,Will of Richard Whittington: " I leave to my executors named below the entire tenement in which I live in the parish of St. Michael Paternoster Royal, Londo/ ...

*William FitzStephen, remarked on the Tower of LondonStalley, R. A. 1999. Early medieval architecture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Prominent families

(Names are variously spelled with or without a space and capital letter after "Fitz-") * FitzAlan (see

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The premier non-royal peer, the Duke of Norfolk is additionally the premier duke and earl in the English peerage. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the t ...

, Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent) *

(late 18th century; see

King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

) * Fitzduncan * FitzGeorge * FitzGerald (see Baron Fitzgerald,

Duke of Leinster Duke of Leinster (; ) is a title and the premier dukedom in the Peerage of Ireland. The subsidiary titles of the Duke of Leinster are: Marquess of Kildare (1761), Earl of Kildare (1316), Earl of Offaly (1761), Viscount Leinster, of Taplow in th ...

Earl of Dunmore Earl of Dunmore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title Earl of Dunmore was created in 1686 for Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore, Lord Charles Murray, son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. The title passed down through genera ...

, FitzGerald baronets) * Fitzgibbon * Fitzgilbert * Fitzharris * Fitzhenry *FitzHerbert (see Baron Stafford, FitzHerbert baronets) * Fitzhugh * FitzJames * FitzJohn * Fitzmaurice (see Marquess of Lansdowne) * Fitzmorris * Fitzpatrick * Fitzrichard * Fitzroy (see

Duke of Grafton Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke o ...

Viscount Daventry Viscount Daventry, of Daventry in the Northamptonshire, County of Northampton, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 6 May 1943 for Muriel FitzRoy, 1st Viscountess Daventry, Muriel FitzRoy (née Douglas-Pennant), in h ...

) * Fitzsimon * Fitzsimons * Fitzstephen * FitzThomas * Fitzwarren * Fitzwater * Fitzwilliam (see Earl Fitzwilliam)

Other uses

''Fitz'' is also a stand-alone German surname originating in the Palatinate region of Germany.

Footnotes

References

{{NIE Patronymics