Church
A topographic surname for someone who lived near a church, or sometimes worked there.
The #966 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 8,559 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname comes from Middle English church, from Old English cirice/cyrice, meaning a Christian church. It was first used as a descriptive name for someone who lived by a church or at the churchyard rather than as a hereditary family name. Historical forms in records include Atte Chirche, De la Chirke, and Ecclesia, all pointing to the same basic meaning.
History
Lower’s 19th-century discussion treats Church as a residence-based surname, and the many early record forms show how often it was attached to location. It belongs to a large class of English surnames taken from nearby landmarks or settlements. The name remained common enough to become firmly established as a hereditary surname by the late medieval period.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Church is also one of a cluster of English surnames built from religious vocabulary, alongside names like Priest, Parson, Deacon, and Pray.
From the historical record
“deley. CHURCH. From residence near one. In the H.R. this name is found under va- rious forms, as Atte Cbirche, De la Chirke, Ecclesia, De Ecclesia, and Ad Ecclesiam. CIIURCHER. From residence near some church ; or it may be the same as Churchman. CHURCHILL. Kelham makes Roger de Corcelles, a great Domesd. tenant in…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom