Crew

Crew is a Welsh surname derived from a place name so-called Crewe near the Welsh-English borders. The town’s name was taken from the Welsh word “cryw” which means “weir” or “ford” in reference to a dam-like structure built across the local river used to catch fish. Crewe would have been given as a surname to folks who hailed from the town and relocated someplace else. The town of their original birthplace was meant as a unique identifier (generally for the purposes of taxation). Crewe was the first spelling of this surname which first surfaced in the 16th century. Aside from Crew’s connection to the Welsh, “crew” is also an English vocabulary word signifying a group of people working together on a common task (this is where the rowing sport crew got its name). In this case, crew comes from the Middle French word “crue” meaning “military reinforcements” (in the High Middle Ages “crew” mainly referred to a group of soldiers). The French word was ultimately borrowed from the “crescere” meaning “grow”. The word Crew brings about a sense of teamwork and production. As a masculine given name Crew is a pretty new coinage, and appears to be distinctly American.