Trevaskus

This is an ancient Cornish surname. Recorded as Trevaskus, Trevaskis, Trevascus, Trevaskus and others, It is locational from either or both places called Trevaskus in Gwinear or Trevaskus in Gorran, Trevaskus being a shortened and transposed form of Maelscuet's homestead. Cornish surnames are mainly locational, itself a departure from the traditions of Gaelic and Celtic surnames which are usually patronymics based upon nicknames for the first chief of the clan. In most parts of Europe locational surnames are ones given to people after they left their original homes to move somewhere else, but in Cornwall the opposite applies, the names are given because somebody lives at a certain place. As a result localised nicknames were developed on the lines of the famous Welsh syndrome of Jones, the butcher! Cornish surnames are also unusual in that they rarely seem to travel far from their home county, the River Tamar lying between the English counties of Cornwall and Devon seemingly providing a barrier in all senses of the word. Recordings taken at random from surviving Cornish church registers include Grace Trevaskes who was christened at Saint Erth on November 19th 1632, and Hannibal Trevaskis who married Priscella Bussow at St Hilary, on March 26th 1761.