Metcalfe

English (Yorkshire): of uncertain origin, probably from Middle English metecalf ‘food calf’, i.e. a calf being fattened up for eating at the end of the summer. It is thus either an occupational name for a herdsman or slaughterer, or a nickname for a sleek and plump individual, from the same word in a transferred sense. The variants in med- appear early, and suggest that the first element was associated by folk etymology with Middle English mead ‘meadow’, ‘pasture’. The surname “Metcalf” belongs essentially to the north of England, and has its origin in Yorkshire. They were most plentiful in the district of Wensleydale. The history of the surname commences with a man who was called “Arkefrith”. He was a noble Danish warrior and commander who came over to England with King Canute in the year 1016 A D. In reward for his valuable services, King Canute granted him vast tracts of land and estates in northern Yorkshire. He was styled “Lord of Dent” and his name appeared as such in the DoomsdayBook. He was succeeded in the ownership of his lands by his son Arkyll. Arkyl was succeeded by his son William, who in turn left left the estates to his eldest son Richard. Richard, however, seems to have ceded to his son Adam only a portion of the lands and estate of Dent, namely the lands extending to the top of the mountain known as “Calffe Fell”, on the borders of Westmorland ( the “Lake District” ).

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