Mead
A surname for someone who lived by a meadow, with some Irish families bearing an anglicized form of Meagh.
The #1,578 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,585 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In English use, Mead is usually a topographic surname from Old English words for a meadow or mown grassland, originally meaning someone who lived by or near a meadow. The same root appears in older spellings such as Mede and in related surnames like Meads and Meader. Some Irish bearers of Mead derive it from the old Gaelic surname Meagh, later anglicized in Ireland.
History
The English form is attested early in medieval records, often with the sense 'at the meadow.' Over time it also generated related surnames such as Meads and Meader. In Ireland, the name is sometimes connected with the family of Lord Clanwilliam in County Cork, where the anglicized Meagh/Mead line had long standing.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The related surname Meader was explained by Harrison as either 'Mead' plus the agent suffix -er or, more literally, as 'mower.'
From the historical record
“Cp. Maycock. MEAD \ (Eng.) Dweller at a Meadow [O.E. MEADE J meed'] Robert atte Mede.— Pari. Writs. MEADER (Eng.) i = Mead (q.v.)-l-the agent, suff. -er. 2 Mower ' [O.E. mm^ere] The meader walks forth with his scythe”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)