Connor
Usually an Anglicized form of Irish O'Connor, meaning a descendant of Connor/Conchobhar.
The #1,207 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 10,521 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Connor is most often an Anglicized form of the Irish surname O'Connor, from Ó Conchobhair. The personal name Conchobhar is traditionally explained as meaning something like 'lover of hounds' or 'hound-lover,' though older scholarship sometimes gives broader senses such as 'chief courage.' In some English records, Connor can also appear as a separate surname unrelated to O'Connor, but that is less common.
History
Lower explicitly cross-references Connor to O'Connor, and later surname dictionaries likewise treat it as the regular Anglicized Irish form. In modern usage Connor is found both in Ireland and in English-speaking countries where Irish names spread through migration. Some 19th-century writers also noted that a few bearers may have unrelated English origins, so the surname is not always exclusively Irish in every family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because the apostrophe in O'Connor was often dropped in records, Connor and O'Connor have frequently been treated as the same surname in census and directory listings.
From the historical record
“ship in CO. Hereford. CONNOR. See O'Connor. CONQUEROR. A victor— probably in some rustic game. Conquestor is found in the H.R. The singular name Couquergood is not easily explained. CONQUEST. Probably a contraction of Conquestor. " Willelm' Concpicstor'' is the name of a private person mentioned in the H.R., and…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom