Olmstead
A locational surname meaning someone from a place associated with elm trees or a green, wooded stead.
The #4,430 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 38,492 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as a place-name formation from Old English elements meaning "elm" and "stead" or "place." The first element is commonly taken as elm, and the second as a homestead, site, or place. Older writers sometimes described it more loosely as "the place by the green oaks," but the core idea is a settlement marked by trees or woodland.
History
The name appears in English and American records in several spellings, including Olmstead and Olmsted. In the United States it is especially familiar from the prominent Olmsted family, including landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, which helped fix the shorter modern spelling in many records. Historical sources also show the surname being used in discussions of altered or anglicized names, but that is incidental rather than part of the name’s origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Frederick Law Olmsted’s family spelling was Olmsted, without the extra a found in many modern records of the name.
From the historical record
“called from Olden, old, and dorf, a village. OLMSTEAD. Local A place or town by the green oaks, from Holm, an oak, and stead, a place. Holme, low lands on a river, an island. O'MAHONT. The descendant of Mahon, which signifies a bear. O'MALLEY. The descendant of Malley; Mala, Gaelic, the brow of a hill • Maitte…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names