Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Humphreys” come from?

Humphreys is the plural or possessive form of the English given name Humphrey, itself derived from Old French Humfrey, from Germanic elements meaning "giant" and "peace."

Ancestry of “Humphreys”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-sUsed to form regular plurals of nouns; Used to...
2Middle English-esAlternative form of -yssh; Alternative form of...
3Old English-espossessive marker, indicating that an object...
4Proto-Germanic-as—
5Proto-Indo-European-ēsPrimarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds
6Proto-Indo-European-ess—
7Proto-Indo-European-osCreates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -os →