Horace Family History

English (Lancashire): probably in most instances a variant of Orridge itself ultimately a variant of Horwich with sibilation of the final palatal consonant to /ʃ/ and /s/ to give (H)orrish and (H)orris.

It was sometimes associated with the personal name Horace in modern times by folk etymology and perhaps in some cases did arise from the Middle English personal name Orace (from Latin Horatius possibly of Etruscan origin and associated chiefly with the name of the Roman poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65–8 B. C.)) but this name was exceptionally rare in medieval England and is unlikely to be the main source of the surname.

In some cases the name may have arisen from the Middle English personal name Ordrich Orrich (Old English Ordrīc from ord ‘point spear’ + rīc ‘power realm’) with post-medieval voicing of the final consonant to give Orridge and later Horace.