Fawcett
A northern English surname most likely taken from a place name in Yorkshire, later spelled in several close variants.
The #5,454 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 48,385 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Fawcett is generally explained as a locational surname, probably from Forcett in Yorkshire. The place-name is usually taken to mean something like “a fold or enclosed place” in Old English, though the exact early form is not fully certain in the older sources. The surname also appears in closely related spellings such as Faussett, Forsyth, and Fassett in historical records.
History
The name is strongly associated with northern England, especially Yorkshire, in the medieval records cited by older surname writers. Later it spread more widely in England and beyond, with spelling variation common before modern standardization. Some older authors also linked it with other forms through folk or speculative etymology, so the exact derivation is sometimes treated cautiously.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books specifically note that the name appears in the district where it is thought to have arisen, a classic clue for locational surnames.
From the historical record
“dering race, is appropriate enough, FAWCETT. Probably from Forcett, a township in the wapentake of Giilingwest, N. E. of Yorkshire. Forsyth and Faussett seem to be mere varieties of the same name. FAWCON. See Falcon. FAWCONBERGE. FAWCOX- BRIDGE. The great barons by writ, De Fauconberg, were summoned to Parliament”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom