Null
A surname with a stark, negative sense, likely from the Latin word for “none” or “nothing.”
The #4,910 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 43,061 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Null is most naturally linked to Latin nullus, meaning “none” or “not any,” and to English null, “void” or “invalid.” As a name, it was probably applied as a nickname or perhaps as a clerical or legal sobriquet rather than as a straightforward occupational surname. The old sources you provided also treat it as one of a set of “significant” or unusual surnames built on common words.
History
The name is uncommon but is documented in 19th-century American directories, including families in Philadelphia. Because it is so rare, later writers often noticed it as an example of a meaningful or “odd” surname. It appears in modern U.S. census data in modest numbers, showing that the name has continued, though never widely.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Writers on surnames have long grouped Null with other word-based names like Blank, Blankman, and Nothing-style surnames because of its everyday meaning.
From the historical record
“bably owns railroad stock. Messrs. Tittle, Blank, and Cyfer, have insignificant names, Mr. Blankman and Mr. Aught live in New York. At Philadelphia I find families of Blanck, Blank and Blankman, two families of Dito, and six families of Null. . . . Mr. Earless was sued in 1857. Mr. Mear made a deed in December…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom