Jun
A short surname that may simply preserve the English abbreviation for “junior,” rather than a true hereditary family name in origin.
The #8,164 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 76,064 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The excerpts do not give a true surname entry, only many incidental uses of “jun.” as an abbreviation for “junior.” In English records, this was commonly written after a son’s name to distinguish him from an older namesake, and in some cases such a label could later be mistaken for, or fixed as, a surname. Because the evidence here is incidental rather than explanatory, the safest reading is that Jun is not securely established from these sources as having one single original meaning.
History
The form is most familiar historically as an abbreviation in records and pedigrees, not as an old hereditary surname. In modern use, Jun can also reflect independent surnames from other languages, but those are not evidenced by the excerpts provided here. The US census count suggests a small, diverse set of bearers rather than one clearly traceable family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In old genealogies, “jun.” could be written right after a father-and-son pair in the same record to distinguish them—sometimes the abbreviation itself later becomes part of the name history.
From the historical record
“Johannes de Bland et uxor, 1379 : P. T. Yorks., p. 389. Johannes de Bland, litlill, 1379 : ibid. 0ohn Bland, jun.,we might almost style him.) Again— Johannes Taillour, parv/s (parvus), 1379 : P. T. Yorks., p. 178. Johannes Taillour, de Hvle, 1379: ibid. Living each pair in their own small hamlet, and John being the…”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances