Barefoot
An English surname that may come from a nickname for someone who went barefoot, though some sources also treat it as a local surname from Barford/Barforth-type place names.
The #7,900 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 73,686 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name has two main proposed explanations in older surname dictionaries. One derives it from the obvious nickname “bare foot,” referring to someone who went without shoes; medieval writers also linked it with religious figures such as friars or pilgrims. Other authorities, however, preferred a locational origin, connecting it with place-name forms such as Barford or Barforth, so the literal meaning is not certain.
History
The surname is recorded in England by the 16th and early 17th centuries in forms such as Barfoote and Barefoot. Because the name is relatively rare, it may reflect more than one origin in different families: some from a nickname, others from a place-name source. Later surname works disagreed on which explanation was primary, so the history remains somewhat mixed.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older writers sometimes associated the name with a friar or pilgrim who walked barefoot, making it one of the more vivid medieval-style surnames.
From the historical record
“as " the good or handsome beard." BAREFOOT. Probably local. A Nor- Avegian king, hoAA'ever, bore this sobriquet. BARENTINE. A place in the arron- disseraent of Rouen in Normandy, near the Rouen and Havre Raihvay. BARENTON. A town in the arron- dissemeut of Mortaiu, in Normandy. BARFF. Barf or Bargh means in the…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom