Essex
A surname taken from the English county of Essex, originally meaning a person from the East Saxons’ land.
The #8,529 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 80,027 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Essex is a locational surname from the county of Essex in eastern England. The county name goes back to Old English words meaning “East Saxons,” referring to the Saxon people who settled that region. In surname use, it simply identified someone who came from or was associated with that county.
History
Historical records and later surname dictionaries treat Essex as a straightforward place-based surname. Lower specifically glossed it as “the county” and noted an early bearer styled de Essexia, showing the name in use by the medieval period. It has remained a relatively uncommon surname in modern English-speaking populations.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The county name Essex is one of several English place names preserving the old tribal identity of the Saxons who lived there.
From the historical record
“ESSELL. Probably the same as Hassell. ESSEX. The county. One Swain of Essex was a tenant in chief in co. Hun- tingdon at the making of Domesday. Henry de Essexia, probably his descendant, was a powerful, but at length an unfortunate baron, temp. Henry 11. See Chronicle of Battel Abbe}^, p. 95. ESTAIMPES. Now…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom