Lovelady
A rare English surname that likely began as a descriptive phrase-name, literally “love lady” or “dear lady.”
The #8,299 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 77,341 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally treated as an English phrase-name built from love + lady. Older writers linked it to a complimenting or affectionate expression, rather than to a place-name or occupation. The first element is straightforwardly “love,” while the second is “lady,” giving the literal sense “loving lady” or “dear lady.”
History
Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century surname writers usually grouped Lovelady with other expressive phrase-names, and Weekley specifically called it a genuine phrase-name. Some older references also send the reader to related forms such as Toplady, showing that scholars were still debating how such names arose and developed. In modern records it remains uncommon and is most strongly associated with England and later English-speaking countries, especially the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Weekley singled out Lovelady as a “genuine phrase-name,” which is one reason it stands out among English surnames.
From the historical record
“name. Peerage. LOVELADY. See Lady. LOVELOCK. Lovelocks were " pendent locks of hair, falling near or over the ears, and cut iir a variety of fashions. This ridi- culous appendage to the person is often al- luded to bj' the writers previous to the Res- toration." Halliw. I do not know whether any trace of this…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom