Glass
Usually a surname from glass-making, though in some cases it may come from a place name in Scotland.
The #823 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 7,386 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Glass most often comes from an occupational name for a maker or seller of glass. The medieval word behind it is tied to Old French and Latin roots meaning "glass," especially forms associated with glassworkers and glassworks. In some families, however, the surname may be locational, taken from places called Glass in Scotland.
History
English surname writers of the 19th century usually explained Glass as linked to the glass trade, and they compared it with related forms such as Glazier and Glasswright. Lower also noted a locational source, from places called Glass in Scotland, so the surname may have more than one independent origin. The name is well established in Britain and later spread widely to North America and other English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
19th-century surname collectors even treated Glass and Glazier as part of a whole cluster of names built from the glass trade, including Glasswright and Glaisher.
From the historical record
“GLASIBR. A glazier. GLASS. A parish in cos. Aberdeen and Banff ; also an island, a lake, and a river in Scotland. GLASSBROOK. See Glazebrook. GLASSCOCK. See Nicholas. The Glascocks of High Estre, co. Essex, traced their pedigree to temp. Edw. III. GLASSCOTT. Glascote, a township co. Warwick. The Glascotts, who went…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom