Dortch
An English surname that likely began as a local or nickname form, later stabilized in spelling in the United States.
The #6,965 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 64,095 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Dortch is most likely an English surname of uncertain origin, probably a variant spelling that developed from an older local name or nickname. The ending -ch is often the result of regional spelling variation in English records, especially in names that had several older forms before standard spelling settled. In some cases surnames like this also arose from place-based bynames, but the exact root behind Dortch is not firmly established.
History
The surname is recorded mainly in the United States in modern times, where spelling variation could become fixed within a family line. Like many relatively uncommon surnames, it may reflect earlier British or colonial-era name forms that were written several different ways by clerks and census takers. Today it is best treated as a rare surname with an English-language background rather than a fully secure single-point origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is uncommon enough that small spelling shifts could create separate family lines in records, even when they came from the same older name.