| The
name Greathead appears in London and Whitby, in the 14th
and 15th Century. It seems to mean just that; someone
with a remarkably large head, in the real or perhaps colloquial sense, or
maybe they enjoyed rather a large ego. I like to think maybe the
large head contains brains used to achieve whatever we choose to do.
It
has also been suggested that the French name of Grosstete
could
be a variant. .
This
variation can be dated to as early as 1215 in the person of Bishop Robert
of Lincoln, and Peter in the North East in 1184.
I have yet to investigate.
The
name is believed to have a single source somewhere in the North of England
but this has not yet been definitively proved, unless you hold that vital
piece of the jigsaw  . We have
the usual mix of miners, farmers, sailors, adventurers, craftsmen,
tradesman and the name has been associated with at least two great
engineers. |
