Hazzard
A surname usually treated as a variant of Hazard, most likely from a place-name origin in Devon.
The #8,348 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 77,868 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hazzard is generally taken as a spelling variant of Hazard. In the older surname literature, Hazard is linked to a locative source, with one explanation connecting it to a place-name in Devon. If so, the name would originally have identified someone by their home village or district rather than by any literal meaning of the modern word "hazard."
History
The form appears in older records and surname dictionaries mainly as an alternate spelling under Hazard or Hassard. The historical sources here point to a Devon place-name connection, but they do not provide a full modern proof of the derivation. In later centuries the spelling Hazzard became fixed in some family lines, though Hazard remains the more common standard form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is often discussed alongside the everyday English word "hazard," but the family name is usually explained as a place-based surname rather than a nickname for someone risky.
From the historical record
“Hezelin ; p.n. See Hassall Hazlett. See Haseldine Hazzard. From Hazard ; a loc. n., Devon. See Hassard Heacock. See Haycock Head. A.S. Headda, Hedde ; G. Hede; D. Heede ; p.n. (warrior). Prot. ref., Norwich, 1622”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)