Full

Recorded as Full, Fulle, Fullard, Fullerd, Fullager, Fullman, Fulmen and others, this is almost certainly a surname of English origins. These are quite complex and there are at least three and possibly more of them. The most likely explanation is a derivation from the pre 7th century word 'ful.' This was originally was used both as a personal name, or when part of a place name such as Fulwood, can mean either 'Fuls wood' or perhaps the wood by the marsh, with 'ful' being another word for marshy or muddy. It may also be associated with the surname Fuller or Fullman from the Olde English word 'fullere' and which literally means 'one who works by tramping or treading'. Hence it is a description for a worker in textiles who scours or thickens the cloth by treading it in water. Another possibility which may apply to the spellings as Fullard and Fullerd, is that it was a personal name or nickname from Full +hard, the suffix meaning literally 'hard man'. This suffix was applied to several surnames, and it does not seem to have been entirely complimentary. Examples of surname recordings in early surviving church registers of the city of London include the exotically named Frisewith Full who married one Edward Banister, at St Nicholas Acons on May 5th 1581, Thomas Fullman, a christening witness at St Margarets Westminster, on June 30th 1680, John Fullager, a christening witness at St Mary Magdalene on October 16th 1702, and George Fullard who married a lady called Sydney Jones, at St Martins in the Field, Westminster on September 23rd 1702.