领兵制

Another group of surnames describes what the first person to bear the name looked like, or comments on some aspects of his personality. Brown is a typical example of such a name, indicating a man who had brown hair. In the Middle Ages, when surnames were becoming hereditary (世袭的), most Englishmen probably had fair hair, so the man with brown hair was unusual. Similar surnames are Grey, for someone whose hair was that color, and Read or Reed, for a red-head.

A man who was noted for his great strength might be known simply as Strong. He could also be called Turnbull because of his ability to take a bull by the horns and roll it over. If he was both strong and courageous, then he might earn the right to be called Hardy.

Names which are comments on someone’s behavior include Wild and Savage. More complimentary are names like Goodfellow, for a popular man, and Jolly, for someone who laughed a great deal.