House

English (southwestern): from Middle English hous ‘house’ (Old English hūs). In the Middle Ages the majority of the population lived in cottages or huts rather than houses, and in most cases this name probably indicates someone who had some connection with the largest and most important building in a settlement, either a religious house or simply the local manor house. In some cases it may be a status name for a householder, someone who owned his own dwelling as opposed to being a tenant, but more often it is an occupational name for a servant who worked in such a house, in particular a steward who managed one.