Metcalfe
An English surname usually treated as a spelling variant of Medcalf, traditionally linked to measuring or, by folk tale, to “meeting a calf.”
The #7,086 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 65,343 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The main scholarly explanation in the older surname books is that Metcalfe is a variant of Medcalf, but the deeper origin is not settled from the excerpts alone. Some writers connect the name with Middle English words for a measuring rod or with a measuring-related occupational sense, while others preserve a famous folk story that it meant “met a calf.” The strongest conservative reading is that it is an English surname of uncertain derivation, probably shaped by dialect and spelling variation.
History
Lower describes Metcalfe as a major Yorkshire family, and the name is especially associated with northern England. Early modern records show it in several spellings, including Medcalf, and the family appears prominently enough in Yorkshire gentry circles to draw comment from Camden. The surname later spread beyond England and is now well established in the English-speaking world, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A much-repeated story says the surname came from an ancestor who literally “met a calf,” but surname scholars treated that as a popular explanation rather than a secure origin.
From the historical record
“METCALF METCALFE for Medcalf, q.v. METEYARD (Eng.) meton. for a Surveyor [M.E. mete-yard, a measuring rod — O.E, metan, to measure ; gyrd, gerd, rod]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)