Nations
A rare surname that most likely began as a nickname or descriptive byname connected with “the nations” or “foreign peoples,” rather than as a place name.
The #9,050 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 85,525 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is probably built from the English word nations, ultimately from Latin natio meaning “birth,” “people,” or “nation.” As a family name, it is most plausibly a descriptive or nickname-based formation, perhaps referring to someone thought of as cosmopolitan, foreign, or connected with different peoples. The plural form makes it unusual, and there is no clear evidence here for a single standard medieval occupational or locational source.
History
The historical excerpts provided do not contain a direct dictionary entry for Nations, so the explanation must be tentative. In English-language surname material, names formed from ethnic or national labels are well attested, and the plural form may reflect an old nickname or a later fixed spelling. The surname is uncommon in modern records, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The plural noun form is unusual enough that the surname can easily be mistaken for a reference to multiple countries rather than a family name.
From the historical record
“bly," says de Wulf, "all the names in use in Ireland before the fifth century were of native origin ; but from that period onwards foreign names have been borrowed from time to time from the various nations with which Ireland was brought into contact, directly or indirectly, in the course of her history. A number…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)