Honeywood

Recorded in several forms including Honeywood, Honywood, Honwood, Honworth, and probably others, this is an English surname. It would seem to be almost certainly locational, and from some place which is similar in spelling to the modren surname, however no such place has been identified. Furthermore the famous Victorian etymologist Canon Charles Bardsley writing in 1880 was unable to find the site, so clearly this has been a problem for some considerable time. At least three thousand British Isles surnames are known to have originated from 'lost' villages, so this would seem to be another example. Furthermore being a locational surname, it is also a 'from' name. That is to say a name given to a person who had left their former home to move somewhere else. This also adds to the difficulty of site identification. There are several places whose name commence with 'Honey' such as Honeybourne in Gloucestershire, and Honeychurch in Devon, and the name does in general terms describe a place where honey was collected. The surviving church registers of the city of London include the recordings of Robert Honywood at the church of St Batholmew the Great, on September 9th 1579, and Rebecca Honeywood at St Katherines by the Tower on September 21st 1708.