NURSE
Nurse is an English occupational surname that first appears in the Middle Ages. These surnames were normally adopted by individuals whose trade or role in society was significant, and in this case the name identified a wet nurse or nursemaid.
The term derives from Middle English nurse or nurice, itself borrowed from Old French nurice or norrice, ultimately from Latin nutrix, genitive nutricis, meaning a nurturer or foster mother.
The earliest surviving records date to the early 13th century, with the Hundred Rolls recording Roberta la Norice in 1273. Other contemporaneous notations include Matilda Nutrix and Maria le Noreyse in Cambridgeshire, 1273; Alice la Norisse and Agnes le Norice in the Court Rolls of Colchester, 1310–1337; and Joan Nurys in the 1379 Poll Tax returns of Yorkshire.
Over time a number of variant spellings have arisen, reflecting regional pronunciation and orthographic differences. Common forms include Nourse, Nours, Newrs, Noars, Noursse and Nures; less frequent spellings such as Norice and Norrice also appear in historic records.
A heraldic grant was issued to the Nurse family of England. The arms consist of a black shield with a silver saltire, on which is a fleur-de-lis of the first; the crest is a pair of balances proper, and the motto is Justitia, meaning justice.
While the name remains concentrated in the United Kingdom, it has spread to other English-speaking nations. Census data from the late nineteenth century shows a high concentration in the eastern United States, particularly in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Ohio. In Australia, members of the Nurse family were among the early miners in the goldfields near Nundle in New South Wales. In Canada and New Zealand the surname is less common but still recorded.
Contemporary communities bear the name in numerous forms, and it has occasionally been adopted by families with similar phonetics, such as Newson, Newbury and Newsome. In continental Europe the name and its variants are documented in French, German, Dutch and Irish records, notably in Dijon in 1191 (Noursse) and Norfolk in 1340 (Newrs).
Although the modern profession of nursing differs vastly from the medieval practice of wet nursing, the surname persists as a reminder of the historic nurturing role that has long been valued across English society.
Typical given names associated with the Nurse surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Richard
- Stephen
- William
Female
- Deborah
- Elizabeth
- Jane
- Jean
- Karen
- Linda
- Lynda
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
- Wendy
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Nurse in...
Braille
⠝⠥⠗⠎⠑
Morse
-...-.-.....
Semaphore
Did you know?
According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Nurse are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Jammy Dodger.
There are approximately 3,110 people named Nurse in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,897th most common surname in Britain. Around 48 in a million people in Britain are named Nurse.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Nurse
- Paul Nurse - Nobel prize winning British biochemist
- Rebecca Nurse - Convicted of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials (1621 to 1692)
- Denise Nurse - Television presenter
- Tyrone Nurse - Boxer
- Phil Nurse - Kickboxer
- Mel Nurse - Welsh football player
- David Nurse - Football player
- George Nurse - Football player
- George Nurse - Recipient of the Victoria Cross (1873 to 1945)
- Lee Nurse - Cricketer
- Chris Nurse - Football player
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.