Large is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

, with variants including Lardge and Lurge. Its meaning is variable, though it may derive from the

Norman French Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...

adjective, ''large'' (meaning "generous" or "big" s in, "that's big of you", meaning generous, as well as large in size, as it is found in the surname "le Large" in English records dating back as far as the 13th century. Harrison's work on English surnames gives the following: "Large (adjectival: French, Latin) Big; Generous iddle_English_Old_French_''large'';_Latin_''larg-us,_-a'',_[meaningabundant,_liberal.html" ;"title="eaning.html" ;"title="iddle English Old French ''large''; Latin ''larg-us, -a'', [meaning">iddle English Old French ''large''; Latin ''larg-us, -a'', [meaningabundant, liberal">eaning.html" ;"title="iddle English Old French ''large''; Latin ''larg-us, -a'', [meaning">iddle English Old French ''large''; Latin ''larg-us, -a'', [meaningabundant, liberal He gives an early citation for the name: ''Austin Belz from the Hundred Rolls,'' a reference dating to 1273. He also provides a quotation showing the word in its older sense of ''generous'', ''full'', ''liberal'' or ''ample'' in its literary context: ''So large of [gift] and free was she'' (from Geoffrey Chaucer, Chaucer's ''Romance of the Rose'' I168) Another variant surname, "de Large", appears to be continental European rather than English in origin. Henry Brougham Guppy's survey circa 1881, based on local British directories, places Large as a surname local to Wiltshire, North Wiltshire, and considers it to have particular prevalence among

yeoman farmer Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

s.(Guppy, 1890) According to the

International Genealogical Index The International Genealogical Index (IGI) is a database of genealogical records, compiled from several sources, and maintained by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Originally created in 1969, the index was intended to help track the ...

, the surname is also found in many other English counties; in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and other

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

countries; in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and, more rarely, in the

Scandinavian countries Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swede ...

. Large is also found in Latin America countries such as

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

where all families surnamed Large are related. People with the name Large, or one of its variants, include:

People

* Sir Andrew Large (born 1942), British, Monetary Policy Committee member *

Bonnie Large Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

(born 1952), American, ''Playboy'' model *

Brian Large Brian Large (born 16 February 1939 in London, England) is a television director and author. He is among the world's foremost TV directors specializing in opera and classical music. Biography Studies Large studied at the Royal Academy of Music ...

(born 1939), British opera video director * Donald "Lofty" Large (born 1930), British soldier and author *

Eddie Large Edward Hugh McGinnis (25 June 1941 – 2 April 2020), better known by the stage name Eddie Large, was a British comedian. He was best known as one half of the double act Little and Large, with Syd Little (the stage name of Cyril Mead). Early l ...

(1941–2020), British comedian * John Large, British engineer * Josaphat-Robert Large (1942–2017), Haitian-American poet * Rob Large (born 1981), English cricketer *

Robert Large Robert Large (died 1441) was a London merchant, a member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers, who was Mayor of London and a Member of Parliament. He was served as one of the Mercers' four yearly wardens in 1427 and was Sheriff of London in 1 ...

(died 1441), English, Lord Mayor of London (1439-1440) and apprentice master of

William Caxton William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...

, England's first printer * Stephen Large, English musician *

Storm Large Storm Large (born Susan Storm Large, June 25, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and author. She attracted national attention as a contestant on the CBS reality television show '' Rock Star: Supernova''. For many years solely a rock ...

(born 1969), American singer * Virginia Frederick Large (1914-1982) American painter (Western and Impressionistic) who signed her paintings VFrederick Large * Zach Large (born 1995), American college football player

Variants

* Robert C. De Large (1842 - 1874), American politician

References

* Carroll, Linda Largin, ''The Largin Legacy'', 1995, p. 15 (date of reference to William le Large from the Hundred Rolls) * Guppy, Henry Brougham. ''Homes of Family Names in Great Britain''. London: Harrison, 1890. * International Genealogical Index, www.familysearch.org * Harrison, Henry ''Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary'', 1912/1918, reprinted 1969 and 1996, p. 264 * Reidy, John; Kurath, Hans; Lewis, Robert E.; Kuhn, Sherman M., ''Middle English Dictionary'', Language Arts & Disciplines, 1971, p. 663 (for instances of the surname) pp. 657–663 (for the adjectival and adverbial uses of the word) {{surname