Fast
A nickname surname for someone thought of as firm, steadfast, or quick-moving.
The #6,838 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 62,639 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is best understood as a nickname from English fast, meaning firm, fixed, or steadfast; in older usage it could describe someone reliable, resolute, or securely attached. It may also have been influenced by the everyday word fast in the sense of quick, but the surname evidence in older onomastic sources points most clearly to the “steadfast” sense. The name would originally have been applied as a personal description before becoming hereditary.
History
The historical surname is uncommon, but medieval records show forms such as Standfast and related nickname uses built on the same idea of steadiness or firmness. Because the word fast was also common in Middle English, some examples may have been recorded in slightly different spellings or merged with fuller nickname forms over time. In modern English, the surname is rare and appears in small numbers in English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname dictionaries glossed related forms as meaning “the firm” or “the resolute,” showing that this name could praise character rather than speed.
From the historical record
“colour of his attire — And Scarlett he was flyinge a-foote Fast over stocke and stone. — Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne, S7-8. SCARTH (Scand.) i Bel. to Scarth ; or Dweller at the Gap or Cleft [O.N. skat^”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)