Henshaw
A locational surname meaning “from Henshaw,” a place-name in northern England.
The #7,021 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 64,794 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname comes from a place-name, most likely Henshaw in Northumberland, and possibly also from the Cheshire place-name recorded in medieval spellings such as Henneshagh/Henshaw. The usual explanation is Old English *henn* “hen” plus *sceaga* “wood” or “copse,” giving the sense of “hen wood” or “the wood frequented by hens or game birds.” Some early writers treated Henshaw as a variant of Hanshaw, but the place-name origin is the standard explanation.
History
Medieval records show spellings such as de Henneshagh, indicating an early locational byname for someone who had come from that place. The name later spread as a hereditary surname, with spelling varying between Henshaw and Henshall in some records. It is still found chiefly in Britain and in countries of later English settlement.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books sometimes glossed the name as coming from “the shaw frequented by woodcocks,” reflecting how bird names often shaped English place-names.
From the historical record
“sail. HENSHAW. See Hanshaw. A town- ship in Xorthumberland. HENSMAjST. a page ; the confidant and principal attendant of a Highland chief ; a henchnum. Jamieson. HENSON. See Henry. HENTON. a distn(!t near Chinnor, CO. Oxon.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom