Blythe
A surname from Middle English meaning “happy” or “cheerful,” though some families may also have taken it from places called Blyth/Blythe.
The #4,470 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 38,851 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Blythe comes from Middle English blithe, meaning happy, cheerful, or merry, and ultimately from Old English blīþe with the same sense. As a surname, it could begin as a nickname for a pleasant or lighthearted person. In some cases it may also be locational, from places called Blyth or Blythe in England.
History
The name is recorded in medieval England by the 13th and 14th centuries, including forms such as de Blithe and de Blythe. Later scholarship often treats it mainly as a nickname surname, though some bearers may descend from a place-name source. It has remained in use in Britain and later in the United States, where the modern census shows it as a relatively uncommon surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same adjective behind the surname survives in the old phrase “to be blythe,” meaning to be cheerful or glad.
From the historical record
“Bilb;, Bilbie, BUb«e.- Local, 'ofBilbyt'a township in the parish of Blythe, CD- Notts. Robenaa dc Bilby, 1379 : P- T. Yorka -_ rriage Lie. (Faoilly Office), p. 3.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances