The Art of Naming

The name Ramsey was originally a surname. It comes from a place name meaning "wild-garlic island" in Old English. I came across this name as the name of a town on the Isle of Man. This month's World Wide Wednesday will focus on Manx names. Ramsey is also spelled as Rhumsaa in Manx. According to Behind the Name , Ramsay is a variant of Ramsey . It is used mostly in Scotland as a surname. According to Nameberry , Ramsay is English and means "low-lying land" but Babynames.com says that Ramsay refers to Raven's Island. Clearly there are some meaning discrepancies around the internet, but despite these two names being so similar, it does appear as though they have different meanings. The Baby Name Wizard says that Ramsay is a variant of Ramsey and that they are both Scottish surnames that originate from several different place-names. I already mentioned the town of Ramsey on the Isle of Man, but it is also said to come from either Hræm's Island, Ram&