Belt
Usually an English name from the belt or girdle, though in some cases it may be a nickname or local name.
The #4,065 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 35,338 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Belt is most likely connected with Middle English belt, meaning a belt or girdle, from Old French and ultimately Latin balteus. In medieval naming, such a word could produce a nickname for someone who wore a distinctive belt or a topographic surname for a person identified by a sign or place called "the belt." The sources also suggest some local or occupationally colored uses, but the name is not straightforwardly one single-origin surname in every case.
History
Historical evidence in the excerpts shows Belt appearing in medieval and later English records, with related forms such as Whitebelt and Belt(er). Nineteenth-century surname writers treated it as a name that could arise from an emblem, an inn sign, or a feature of dress, which fits the patchy and sometimes mixed origins typical of short surnames. The surname is still found in English-speaking countries, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A medieval coat-of-arms story linked one family named Leslie with a belt and three buckles, giving rise to the motto "Grip Fast."
From the historical record
“A sheef o£ pocok arwes [arrows], bright and kene, Under his belt he bar ful thriftily.— Chaucer, Cant. Tales, Prol. 104-5. PODGER, app. a by-form of Roger, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)