View Message

[Facts] Arlis
Does anyone know where the male name Arlis is from and what it means?
vote up1vote down

Replies

This name has already been discussedPlease use the search function to check if a name in question has been defined or discussed already. A quick search on "Arlis" points you to: http://www.behindthename.com/bb/arcview.php?id=371479&board=gen
Cleveland Kent Evans writes;
"This is originally an English surname, spelled Arliss or Arles. According to Reaney & Wilson's A Dictionary of English Surnames, it was originally an Old English nickname meaning "earless"."
vote up1vote down
Arliss means `a loss of ears` in Old English, not `earless`
vote up1vote down
For the life of me, I cannot see what is the difference between "a loss of ears" and "earless". If you lose your ears, aren't you then earless? "Earless" is the way it is put in Reaney & Wilson's A Dictionary of English Surnames. That generally is considered one of the most accurate books on the subject of English surnames, if what I have read is true.
vote up1vote down