Lathrop
An English habitational surname from a place-name meaning a remote or outlying village, later carried to America in several spelling forms.
The #4,408 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 38,320 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lathrop is generally understood as a habitational surname from a lost or altered English place-name, usually linked with Lowthorp/Lowthrop or Lawthrop in Yorkshire. The name appears to contain Old English elements for a small settlement or hamlet, with the second element commonly taken as þorp, meaning a village or outlying farmstead. The first element is less certain in these excerpts, but the overall sense is that of a minor rural place.
History
The sources point to Yorkshire, especially the area near Great Driffield, as the likely English source of the surname. In later records the name shows several spellings, including Lowthrop, Lawthrop, Lothrop, and Lathrop, and the American form is described as a variant of the English surname. The name became established in North America through immigration and spelling variation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Historical surname writers explicitly compared Lathrop with Winthrop and other -thorp names, treating it as part of a broader English place-name pattern.
From the historical record
“Yorks. near Great Driffield. My first entry clearly proves that the American Lathrop is but a variant : cf. Winthrop for Winthorp, and Thru pp. II. I0I1B LowthropH, or Lawthrop, oik : Reg. UnLr. Oif. vol. ii. ft. li.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances