Liberty
A rare surname taken from the word for a privileged district or franchise, and sometimes used as a place-name surname.
The #9,184 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 86,922 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname comes from the English word liberty, which in older usage meant a franchise or district enjoying special legal privileges outside the normal county system. As a surname, it was likely applied to someone who lived in, or came from, a place called Liberty, or more generally from such a privileged district. The name is therefore locational rather than based on the modern abstract sense of “freedom.”
History
An early 20th-century surname dictionary notes Liberty as a surname and connects it with the place-name sense of the word. It also mentions a Liberty in Fife, showing how local place-names could feed into family names. The surname appears to be uncommon, and modern U.S. numbers suggest a small but persistent survival.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older English legal language, a “liberty” was not an emotion but a special area with its own rights and customs.
From the historical record
“shire. LIBERTY. A franchise, or district where peculiar laws and customs are enjoyed. See under Lee. The Loud. Direct, gives us a Jonathan Lil)6iiy, but does not inform us whether he has any American relations. There is a village called Liberty iu co. Fife. LICKFOLD. A place near Petworth, CO. Sussex.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom