This is the research about Norman names alluded to in the November meeting:
People with "Norman" surnames like Darcy and Mandeville are still wealthier than the general population 1,000 years after their descendants conquered Britain:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8424904/People-with-Norman-names-wealthier-than-other-Britons.html
Norman Conquest from Hastings? That's crazy!
Also, isn't 'Hill' an Anglo-Saxon 'place' name (such as Waters, Rivers, Field or Valley)? Norman names usually have a strong French flavour - like Villiers, Lacey, Venables, Montgomery or Beaumont (unless you are referring to your maternal ancestry, of course).
The Norman Invasion
Arrow of wealth
conquers the poor
Norman names invade
Anglo-Saxon England.
<Deleted User> (13762)
Mon 28th Nov 2016 09:01
I managed to trace my family roots back to a 14th century knight who had possible Norman ancestry but if there was any money it was probably blown on banquets and booze or lost through the subsequent generations of ten child families who all seemed to share the same names as the previous generation.
Here's another weird and true fact. My first job was as a pension's clerk for the Sun Alliance in Brighton (lol yeah really). One chap on our books was called Norman Conquest and his middle name was William. And yes he lived near Hastings too. I promise this was true. It was one of the first things I was told on my first day.
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raypool
Tue 29th Nov 2016 14:43
It is quite rare to find unbroken links to the Conquest apparently in genealogical terms , families sometimes dying out altogether , and very often to continue the landed families there was an urgent desire to pass on the name preferably with marriage to those with good bloodlines in order to continue the property ownership. That's why the aristocracy still instinctively holds together and maintains its power base. That's my opinion anyway. Apparently my surname Pool has a reputation for attracting the butler class. So that's me up the swanee!
Ray