Enoch
A biblical surname and given-name surname meaning “dedicated” or “disciplined,” taken from the name Enoch in the Hebrew Bible.
The #9,578 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 90,968 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname comes from the biblical personal name Enoch, which 19th-century sources gloss as meaning “dedicated,” “disciplined,” or “well-regulated.” In Hebrew tradition, Enoch is an ancient scriptural name associated with a righteous figure. As a surname, it is usually an inherited form of a given name rather than an occupational or locational name.
History
Enoch appears in English surname use chiefly as a Christian or biblical name adopted as a family name. Nineteenth-century surname writers noted that Old Testament names such as Enoch became especially popular in some English-speaking rural areas. The name also appears in continental European surname material, including French forms related to biblical Enoch.
Origin
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Variant spellings
Fun fact
In the Bible, Enoch is one of the oldest recorded patriarchal names, and later surname writers often grouped it with other Old Testament names that became fashionable as given names and then surnames.
From the historical record
“JARED, " Shall come down ;" ENOCH, "Teaching;" 6 ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND METHUSELAH, " His death, shall send ;" LAMECH, " To the humble ;" NOAH, " Eest or consolation."* These names in the order in which they are re- corded, read thus: "To man, once made in the”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names