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User submitted:
User submitted: This Spanish and French surname was of patronymic origin, derived from the personal name of the father or mother of the original bearer of the name. Thus this surname AHUMADA signifies 'the son or descendant of Hugh'. It was a popular given name among the Normans in England, partly due to the fame of St. Hugh of Lincoln (1140-1200) who was born in Burgundy, and who established the first Cathusian monastery in England. It also owes a great deal of popularity to St. Hugh of Cluny (1024-1109). In Scotland and Ireland this name has been widely used as an equivalent of the Celtic AODH meaning 'fire'. During the 17th century surnames were brought to Britain, North America and southern Africa by French Huguenot exiles. The Huguenots were French Protestants, and in 1572 large numbers of them were massacred in Paris on the orders of Queen Catherine de'Medici. Many of the survivors sought refuge in England and elsewhere. Although the Edict of Nantes (1598) officially guaranteed religious toleration, persecution continud, and the Edict was revoked by Louis XIV in 1685. It was then the trickle of emigration became a flood. Many migrated to England, while others joined groups of Dutch Protestants settling around the Cape of Good Hope. Others sailed across the Atlantic to establish themselves in North America. It was not until the 10th century that modern hereditary surnames first developed, and the use of fixed names spread, first to France, and then England, then to Germany and all of Europe. In these parts of Europe, the individual man was becoming more important, commerce was increasing and the exact identification of each man was becoming a necessity. Even today however, the Church does not recognise surnames. Baptisms and marriages are performed through use of the Christian name alone. Thus hereditary names as we know them today developed gradually during the 11th to the 15th century in the various European countries.
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