surname

[seal!]

Where does the surname 'Lawes' come from?

[Quizmonster]

There are a couple of possibilities at least...a) 'hlaw' in Old English meant a hill/mound, so the name might have been applied to someone who lived on a hillside in the same way as we have Moore, Woods etc as surnames...b) it might be an abbreviation of Lawrence/Laurence which comes from the Latin for 'man from Laurentum', probably a place where laurel/bay trees were common. In both cases, therefore, it probably relates to geographical factors.

[inferno]

Burial mound

[Octavius]

From genealogy.com:

Definition: 1) A diminutive of the given name Laurence, from the Roman cognomen Laurentius, meaning "of Laurentum" - a city in ancient Italy.

2) Possibly derived from the Old English 'hlaw' or 'hyll,' meaning small hill or burial mound; which became "low" in the south, but "law" in the north.

Surname Origin: English

Alternate Surname Spellings: LAW, LAWE, LAWS, LAWES