Childs
A surname that usually came from the old nickname or title “child,” once used for a young person or a noble youth in training.
The #1,242 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 10,887 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Childs is generally taken from Middle English child, from Old English cild, meaning a child or young person. In medieval use, “child” could also be an honorific or social title for a young nobleman or squire, not just a literal small child. The surname may therefore have begun as a nickname for a young person, or as a hereditary form built from that medieval title.
History
Historical writers note that “child” was used in chivalric culture for youths of gentle rank, which helps explain why it could become a surname. Some early sources also treat Childs as a patronymic or hereditary form related to Child, with the final -s marking descent or family connection, as in names like Williams or Jones. The name is well established in English records by the late medieval and early modern periods.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older English usage, a “child” could be a young nobleman in training for knighthood, not merely a little boy.
From the historical record
“96 ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY CHILDS. Child, Page and Yarlet were names given to youths from seven to fourteen years of age, while receiving their education for knighthood. CHILTON. Local From a town of the same name in Wilt- shire, England, signifying the chalk-hills; from the Saxon cylt, clay or chalk. CHIPMAN. A…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names