Nick
A short surname that usually began as a pet form of Nicholas.
The #9,100 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 86,002 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Nick is generally understood as a diminutive or familiar short form of Nicholas. The deeper root is Greek Nikolaos, from elements meaning "victory" and "people." In surname use, it most likely arose first as a personal nickname and then became hereditary as a family name.
History
Nineteenth-century surname scholars treat Nick as a clipped form of Nicholas, and related surnames such as Nickel, Nickell, and Nicklin grew from the same base. It appears mainly in English-speaking records, especially where short pet forms of baptismal names became fixed surnames. The name is relatively uncommon as a modern surname in the US.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname dictionaries group Nick with a whole family of Nicholas-based forms, showing how many different surnames could grow from one given name.
From the historical record
“NICK, a dim. of Nicolas, q.v. for Nicol, q.v. NICKALL NICKEL(L NICKLE NICKOLL for Nicols, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)