Carothers
A surname usually understood as a Scottish or Irish variant of Caruthers, itself linked to the old place-name Carruthers in Dumfriesshire, Scotland.
The #6,238 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 56,340 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Carothers is generally treated as a spelling variant of Caruthers, a surname associated with the place-name Carruthers in Dumfriesshire. The place-name is usually explained from British or Gaelic elements meaning something like 'fort on the border' or 'fort by the fortification,' though the exact early form is uncertain. Over time the surname developed many spellings, including Carruthers, Carrothers, Caruthers, and Carothers.
History
The name spread from southwestern Scotland into Ulster and then into North America, where several spellings became established. The 1901 Matheson excerpt lists Carothers among related forms, reflecting the surname’s variant, mobile spelling tradition rather than a separate origin. In modern usage, Carothers is most often treated as one branch of the wider Carruthers family of names.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
This surname shows how a single family name could split into many spellings before standard spelling became common.
From the historical record
“I O'Carroll. 251 Carrutherr. ' Carothers. Carrithers. Carrothers. Caruthers. Gorathers. 181. Grothers. 213.”
— Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland