Averill
A British surname that most likely began as a place-name form, though its exact source is debated in older dictionaries.
The #9,227 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 87,488 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Older surname writers gave different explanations for Averill. One common idea is that it comes from a place-name, especially Haverhill in Suffolk, with the initial H lost over time in speech. Other references connect it with earlier forms such as Avenel/Averell and treat it as a surname that developed through local pronunciation and spelling change rather than from a single fixed word.
History
The name appears in medieval and early modern records in forms such as Avenel, Averell, and Averill, especially in eastern England. By the 19th century it was established enough to be treated as a distinct surname form, and it also appears in U.S. records through later migration. Modern distribution data still show it as relatively uncommon, with notable clusters in England and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
An old etymological suggestion linked Averill to Haverhill, with the idea that the first sound was simply dropped in everyday speech.
From the historical record
“tinus, imperial, royal, great, renowned. AVERILL. Local. A corruption of Haverhill, the aspirate being dropped. Haverill is a town in Suffolk, England, so named from the Dutch Hyver, Teut, Haher, oats, and hill — the hill sown with oats. AVERY. (G-aelic.) From Aimhrea (the " mh" having the sound of "v"), denoting…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names