Lewis
A common surname from the medieval personal name Lewis, ultimately tied to the wider family of Louis/Llewelyn-style given names.
The #29 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 581 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lewis is generally treated as a surname from the personal name Lewis. In Welsh usage, the name is linked with Llewelyn/Llywelyn, while in broader European use it corresponds to French Louis, a name ultimately from the older Germanic name Chlodowig, source of modern Louis/Ludwig. In England the surname also became widespread directly from the given name, so different families may have acquired it independently.
History
The name became very common in Britain and later spread widely in North America and other English-speaking regions. Older genealogists sometimes distinguished Welsh families with deep local pedigrees bearing the name, but many other bearers simply took it from an ancestor named Lewis. Because it is a familiar baptismal name, the surname has multiple independent origins rather than one single family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower notes that some Welsh Lewis families used the surname while claiming descent from medieval or even ancient British lines, which is one reason the name shows up in Welsh genealogy so often.
From the historical record
“the Welsh Llewellyu. LEWIS. Tlie Welsh jiersonal name, the same as the Fr. Louis. Also one of the Hebrides. Many of the Welsh families con- ceal beneath this common, aud usually plebeian name, blood and pedigree of remote antiquity. For example, Lewis of Green- meadow springs from Gwaethvoed, des- cended from the…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom