Green
A very common surname originally used for someone who lived near a village green or other open grassy space.
The #41 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 718 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Green comes from Middle English grene, meaning "green" or "grass-covered," and was first used as a descriptive name for someone who lived by a green, common, or open uncultivated space. It could also sometimes arise from a personal nickname or from a place-name based on the same word, but the main sense is topographic. Early records show forms such as atte Grene, de la Grene, and a la Grene, literally "at the green" or "of the green."
History
The name became especially common in England because nearly every village had a green, so the same kind of place-based surname could arise independently in many locations. It appears early in medieval records and later spread widely through Britain and overseas English-speaking populations. In some cases, families spelled it Greene, a long-established variant that remains common.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower noted that Green was already so common in London directories in the 19th century that hundreds of tradespeople bore the name.
From the historical record
“mostly explain themselves. GREEN. From residence near an unen- closed space, or common ground. H.R. Ate- Grene, Del Grene, De-la-Grene, and A la Grene. As every village had its green, the commonness of the name is easily accounted for. The Lond. Direct, for 1852 mentions 222 traders so called, besides a few…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom