Tregenza

Recorded as Treganna, Tregenna, Tregona, Tregannah, Tregunna, Tregensoe, Tregensowe, Tregenza, Tregenzo and others, this is an English, but specifically Cornish surname. It is locational like most Cornish surnames, and originates from the phrases tre-Cenue, tre-gonyow or tre-kensa all having the basic meaning of the first or foremost homestead or farm on the downs. Whether this meant the most important homestead in an area, or whether it was geographical and described a homestead near a village, is not known. It is also possible that there was once an actual village or villages of the name, but if this is so they seem to have disappeared. The majority of Celtic and Gaelic surnames are patronymics, but Cornwall, a Celtic county is almost exclusively locational. This often lead to the creation of bynames or nicknames to distinguish the different surname holders, who lived in the same village! However this surname is different in that not having an epic-centre within the county, being in its various forms quite widely recorded throughout Cornwall. Early examples from the surviving church registers of the county include examples such as Robert Tregona of St Columb Major, on September 8th 1547, Raffe Tregenna of St Anthony in Meneage, on December 14th 1617,Thomas Tregensoe, whose daughter Mary was christened at East Newlyn on August 23rd 1618, and Ann Tregenza, who was christened at St Enoder, on January 6th 1662.