Look
An English surname that is most likely a nickname or a shortened form of a familiar personal name, rather than a word meaning “to look.”
The #7,843 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 73,128 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is straightforward in spelling but not fully certain in origin. In surname history, forms like Look are often nicknames, shortened pet forms, or altered spellings of older personal names rather than direct reference to the verb “look.” The sources provided do not include a true headword entry for Look, so the safest reading is that it belongs to the broad English nickname/personal-name class.
History
The name is uncommon in the United States and appears in English-language surname records. Without a direct dictionary entry in the supplied excerpts, there is no secure basis for tying it to one specific county, trade, or family line. Variants may have arisen independently in more than one place through nickname use and later spelling simplification.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because English surnames often hardened from nicknames or familiar forms, a name that looks like an everyday verb can still be an old family name with a completely different backstory.
From the historical record
“Ulster Dialect (chiefly Donegal) which was read in 1899 before the Philological Society (London) by Mr. H. C. Hart. "Nicknames are frequent. 'Sally Look-up' had a squint. 'Paddy Polite' polished manners. 'Susey Fluke' was a fisherwoman. James CuUiagh was the son of a famous culliagh, or cockfighter. Gallagher is so…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)