Q1421260

Fitz (pronounced "fits") was a patronymic indicator used in Anglo-Norman England to help distinguish individuals by identifying their immediate predecessors. Meaning "son of", it would precede the father's forename, or less commonly a title held by the father. In rare cases, it formed part of a matronymic to associate the bearer with a more prominent mother. Convention among modern historians is to represent the word as fitz, but in the original Norman French documentation, it appears as fiz, filz, or similar forms, deriving from the Old French noun filz, fiz (French fils), meaning "son of", and ultimately from Latin filius (son). Its use during the period of English surname adoption (following the Norman conquest) led to its incorporation into patronymic surnames, and at later periods this form was adopted by English kings for the surnames given some of their recognized illegitimate children, and by Irish families when anglicizing their Gaelic patronymic surnames.

==Origin== In Anglo-Norman England, the gentry and nobility were distinguished when named in contemporary documents in one of several ways. For example, some were further identified using a toponymic, which indicated their feudal holdings or the location of their origin, such as with William the Conqueror's adviser Roger de Beaumont ( 1015–1094), ('Roger of Beaumont'). For others an indication of their societal role was given, as with Robert Despenser (Robert 'the steward'), or a nickname like Alan Rufus (Alan 'the Red'). Finally, some were distinguished simply by associating them with their father's name, some of which used the fitz element. Thus fitz Bernard would indicate the person so referred was "son of Bernard". In its original usage, this was part of the personal name of the bearer, and would change in each generation: Domesday landholder John fitz Richard was father of Eustace fitz John, followed in successive generations by Richard fitz Eustace and John fitz Richard.