Dover
A mainly locational surname for someone from the Kent port town of Dover, though a few bearers may reflect other place-names or later local usage.
The #3,651 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 31,692 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Dover is chiefly taken from the English town of Dover in Kent, an ancient port and Cinque Port. The place-name itself is usually traced to the old name of the river there, connected with a Celtic word for water. In surname use, it simply meant “of Dover,” marking where a person came from.
History
Medieval records show the name in locational form, especially in southern England. Because Dover was a major port, the surname could spread through trade, travel, and migration rather than staying confined to Kent. Some older writers also noted other possible local or river-name origins in a few cases, but the Kentish place-name is the standard explanation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Dover’s English surname origin ultimately points back to one of Britain’s best-known seaports, famous for its white cliffs and long strategic importance.
From the historical record
“river of Derbyshire. DOVER. The Kentish town. DOVEREN. Doveran, a river in the shires of Banff and Aberdeen. DO VxVY. Possibly D'AulTai, "of Auflai," a small toM-u near Diejipe, in Normandy. DOW. Probably a corruption of the Gaelic, Dint, i.e. black; but doK or doo, the Scottish for dove or pigeon, may be the…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom