Hirst
A habitational surname from a word for a wood, copse, or wooded hill.
The #9,011 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 85,054 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hirst is an English surname built on the Old English word hurst, meaning a wood, copse, thicket, or wooded rise. It was originally used for someone who lived by such a place, or for someone from a locality named with this element. The name is closely related to Hurst, and older sources treat Hirst as a regional spelling of the same surname.
History
The surname is especially associated with northern England, particularly Yorkshire, where Hirst became the preferred spelling in many families. Historical surname dictionaries consistently connect it with Hurst and explain it as a local name. The wider spread of the name reflects normal migration from northern parish and township names into urban Britain and later overseas.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers noted that Hirst became the favored form in parts of the West Riding of Yorkshire, even when the underlying place-name was written Hurst.
From the historical record
“HIRD. See Herd. HIRST. See Hurst. HISCOCK. A diminutive of Isaac. HISCOCKS. See Isaac. HITCHCOCK. Hitch is an old " nurse- name" of Eicliard, and COCK is the ordinary diminutive. HITCHCOX. See Richard.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom