Butts
A surname usually taken from a place-name meaning “at the butts,” referring to archery targets or the field where archery was practiced.
The #1,548 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,293 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally explained as a locational name from Middle English buttes, meaning the archery butts or target mounds. In medieval England, many towns and villages had a designated area for bow practice, and people who lived near such a place could be identified as being “at the butts.” The word ultimately refers to the target area itself, not to the modern sense of "buttocks."
History
Early surname writers recorded Butts as a common local name tied to places set aside for archery practice. Because many settlements had a "butts" field or lane, the surname could arise independently in several places. The name also survives in English place-names such as Newington Butts in London.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Many English towns once had compulsory archery grounds, and some streets and fields kept the name "The Butts" long after bow practice disappeared.
From the historical record
“BUTTRESS. A corruption of Botreux. BUTTS. The marks for archery. In old times all corporate to's\ms, and most parishes, had a provision for this sport, and numerous fields and closes where the long bow was exercised are still called " The Butts." BUTVELIN". See Boutevilein. B UT WILLIAM. See Boutevilein. BUXTED. A…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom