Fitz

Fitz (pronounced "fits") was a

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 anglicizing their Gaelic

patronymic surnames.

Origin

In Anglo-Norman England, the

toponymic, which indicated their feudal holdings or the location of their origin, such as with William the Conqueror's adviser Roger de Beaumont (c. 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

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.^[2]^[3]

In some circumstances, it was instead the mother who was memorialized in a fitz name form, making it a matronymic. 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, or to distinguish like-named brothers with different mothers, such as Robert fitz Edith, born to Henry I's mistress Edith and distinct from another of the king's bastards born to a different mother, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester.

Irish usage

Use in Ireland had two independent origins. The Irish surname

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 as part of the family's submission under the Crown's surrender and regrant

policy in the 1530s–1540s.

Revival

From the

William IV (1830–1837) by Mrs. Jordan; and FitzGeorge, for the sons born to the legally prohibited marriage of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (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.^[4] In 1834, the Baronet Sir Robert Wygram obtained royal licence to make "a fanciful alteration" of his surname to Fitzwygram.^[5]

In the arts

In the arts, the prefix Fitz has been used to connote nobility. Walter Scott's Ivanhoe includes a Lord Waldemar Fitzurse, a noble advisor of prince John. Ben Jonson'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's 1862 novel Orley Farm features the fictional rakishly aristocratic figure Lord John Fitzjoly. In Jane Austen's famous novel Pride and Prejudice, 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 (1020–1071), a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror
Pain fitzJohn before 1100 – 10 July 1137
High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests
from 1169 to 1177
Fulk I FitzWarin (died 1170/1), son of Warin of Metz, and progeny of same name (see Baron FitzWarin) surviving until Fulk XI FitzWarin, 7th Baron FitzWarin (1405–1420)
Henry II of England (died 1189), son of Empress Matilda, known as Henry FitzEmpress
Reginald Fitzurse (1145–1173)
Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester (died 1204, alias Robert FitzPernel)
Robert FitzWalter, 1st Baron FitzWalter (1247–1326)
Ivo FitzWaryn (1347–1414) whose daughter, Alice, married Richard Whittington^[i]
William FitzStephen, remarked on the Tower of London^[6]

Prominent families

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

FitzAlan (see Duke of Norfolk, Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent)
King William IV
)
Fitzduncan
FitzGeorge
Baron Fitzgerald, Duke of Leinster, Earl of Dunmore, 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, Viscount Daventry)
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

^ In the legend Dick Whittington and His Cat, he is known as Fitzwarren and brings up Whittington.

References

^ "Cotton MS Vitellius A XIII/1". Les roys de Engeltere. 1280–1300. Retrieved 28 May 2023. Five rectangles of red linen, formerly used as curtains for the miniatures. ff. 3–6: Eight miniatures of the kings of England from Edward the Confessor (r. 1042–1066) to Edward I (r. 1272–1307); each one except the last is accompanied by a short account of their reign in Anglo-Norman prose. 'Sir Lowys fiz le Roy Phylippe de Fraunce' 'en engletere: le Roy Jon regna.'^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Patrick Harris, Richard Coates, Peter McClure, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, Oxford, 2016, vol. 1, pp. ix-xiv.
^ Patrick Harris, Richard Coates, Peter McClure, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, Oxford, 2016, vol. 2, pp. 927-929.
^ McKinley, Richard, A History of British Surnames, Longman, 1990, p. 126
^ "Wigram, Robert II (1773–1843), of Belmont Lodge, Malvern Wells, Worcs.", The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820, ed. R. Thorne, 1986
^ Stalley, R. A. 1999. Early medieval architecture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the

New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help

)

[6] In the legend Dick Whittington and His Cat, he is known as Fitzwarren and brings up Whittington.

[1] "Cotton MS Vitellius A XIII/1". Les roys de Engeltere. 1280–1300. Retrieved 28 May 2023. Five rectangles of red linen, formerly used as curtains for the miniatures. ff. 3–6: Eight miniatures of the kings of England from Edward the Confessor (r. 1042–1066) to Edward I (r. 1272–1307); each one except the last is accompanied by a short account of their reign in Anglo-Norman prose. 'Sir Lowys fiz le Roy Phylippe de Fraunce' 'en engletere: le Roy Jon regna.'^{[permanent dead link]}

[2] Patrick Harris, Richard Coates, Peter McClure, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, Oxford, 2016, vol. 1, pp. ix-xiv.

[3] Patrick Harris, Richard Coates, Peter McClure, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, Oxford, 2016, vol. 2, pp. 927-929.

[4] McKinley, Richard, A History of British Surnames, Longman, 1990, p. 126

[5] "Wigram, Robert II (1773–1843), of Belmont Lodge, Malvern Wells, Worcs.", The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820, ed. R. Thorne, 1986

[7] Stalley, R. A. 1999. Early medieval architecture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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