Nobiliary particle
In Denmark and Norway, there is a distinction between (1) nobiliary particles in family names and (2) prepositions denoting an individual person's place of residence.
Nobiliary particles like af, von, and de (English: of) are integrated parts of family names.
The particle can also be du ('of the' in the masculine form), d' (used, per the rules of orthography, when the nom de terre begins with a vowel; for example, Ferdinand d'Orléans), or des ('of the' in the plural).
Only knights were designated by the spoken style monseigneur or messire for 'sir' (dominus in Latin), as, for example, "monseigneur Bertrand du Guesclin, chevalier"—in English form, "Sir Bertrand du Guesclin, knight".
Especially in northwestern Germany, e.g. Bremen, Hamburg, Holstein, Lower Saxony, Schleswig, Westphalia, and in German-speaking Switzerland, the particles von, zu, etc., may be elements in non-noble surnames and usually designate the place of origin.
[7] In the Medieval Kingdom of Hungary Latin was the official language in which royal decrees and all kinds of legal documents were issued.
Hungarian noble families used the nobiliary particle de with the name of an estate granted by the King as a royal donation.
The preposition de and its different orthographic forms (do, dos, da and das), as in France, do not indicate nobility in the bearer.
In the present day, it may also legally be signed João Duarte Silva Santos Costa Sousa.
Unlike French, Spanish lacks elision, and so no contraction is used when the surname starts with a vowel (though exceptionally we find Pedro Arias Dávila), but contraction is used when the surname includes the article el as in Baltasar del Alcázar.
[11] Surnames composed of two names linked by a hyphen ("-"), implying that equal importance is given to both families, do not indicate nobility.
It is also significant that both "de" and "of" were used simply to show geographical origin in the names of people of all classes, so that in England and Wales neither word should be looked on as in themselves nobiliary.
"[12] The anglicisation to Trafford had probably occurred in the 15th century, when the Norman article "de", signifying that a family originated from a particular place, was generally dropped in England.
The resumption of such older versions of family names was a Romantic trend in 19th-century England, encouraged by a mistaken belief that the article "de" indicated nobility.
For instance, Sir Winston Spencer Churchill's surname evidences his descendancy from both the aristocratic Spencer family, amongst whom the Earls Spencer are prominent, and the illustrious background of the Churchills, who hark back to their founder-hero, the prominent military leader John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and whose descendants had died out in the male line (typically the male line descent would be placed last, so that it would have been 'Churchill-Spencer' had the royal licence not specified that it would be 'Spencer-Churchill').
Some of the grandest members of the British aristocracy have triple-barrelled names, for instance the Vane-Tempest-Stewart family, who hold the marquessate of Londonderry; for a while, the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos bore five surnames: Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville.
Recognition of a territorial designation is granted in Scotland by the Lord Lyon to Scottish armigers (those entitled to bear a coat of arms) who own or were born in or are associated with named land, generally in a rural area not forming part of a town.
[15] The territorial designation in this case is considered to be an indivisible part of the name, not in itself necessarily indicating historical feudal nobility, but recognition in a territorial designation is usually accorded alongside the grant or matriculation of a Scottish coat of arms, which effectively confers or recognises minor nobility status, even if not ancient.
[16] A person bearing a Scottish territorial designation is either a Feudal Baron, Chief or Chieftain or a Laird, the latter denoting "landowner", or is a descendant of one of the same.
[17][18] The Lord Lyon is the ultimate arbiter as to determining entitlement to a territorial designation, and his right of discretion in recognising these, and their status as a name, dignity or title, have been confirmed in the Scottish courts.
