Nettles
A surname that usually began as a reference to nettles or a place marked by them.
The #3,198 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 27,318 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Nettles is the plural form of Middle English netel, meaning “nettle,” the stinging plant. As a surname, it most likely began as a nickname or topographic name for someone living near a patch of nettles or at a place identified by them. Historical surname dictionaries treat it simply as a variant or pluralized form of Nettle.
History
The surname appears in English records alongside the simpler form Nettle, and later writers also note Nettleship and Nettleton as related names. It is especially well established in English-language surname lists, though it has never been among the very common English surnames. In the United States it is present but relatively uncommon, with bearers concentrated through ordinary family migration rather than a single famous line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname lists often group Nettles with other plant-based names, showing how everyday vegetation could become a family name.
From the historical record
“fold, and Nettleship. NETTLES. See Nettle. NETTLETON. Parishes in cos. Lin- coln and AVilts. NEVE. See Neave. NEVELL. See Neville. NEVETT. NEVATT. The same as Kuj'A^ett.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom