Monk
A surname that usually began as a nickname for someone associated with a monk or monastic life.
The #2,964 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 25,510 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In English, Monk is most often a nickname or occupational-by-association surname from Middle English monk, meaning a monk or member of a religious order, from Old English munuc. It could be given to someone who worked at a monastery, had a monkish appearance or manner, or was jokingly compared to a monk. In Irish and Scottish contexts, some names rendered as Monk can also reflect Gaelic elements meaning 'shaven one' or 'monk,' especially in surnames built with Maol- forms.
History
The surname appears in medieval English records and is found widely in English-speaking areas by the late Middle Ages. In Ireland and Scotland, some apparently similar surnames were sometimes translated or anglicized as Monk from Gaelic names with religious meanings. The name remained modestly common and later spread to North America through British and Irish migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A medieval nickname like Monk could be literal, descriptive, or even a bit ironic—people did not always use such names about actual clergy.
From the historical record
“Oisc), i.e. Lance or Spear, from the ash-wood shaft. In the follow- ing century we have perhaps the earliest recorded instance of an Anglo-Saxon patronymic: a monk named Biscop (Bishop) was sur- named Baducing, that is Baduc's Son. By the 10th century, with the increase of population, surnames had become commoner…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)