Paddock
Usually a surname from a place-name or a word for a small enclosed field or park.
The #6,441 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 58,563 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is usually explained from Old English pearroc, meaning a small enclosure, park, or croft, which later developed into forms like parrock and paddock. In this sense, the name could be topographic—given to someone who lived by an enclosed field—or locational, from a place-name built on the same element. Some 19th-century writers also treated it as an old personal name behind place-names such as Paddockswood and Padoxhurst, but that explanation is less certain.
History
Bardsley and Arthur both connect the surname with an English word for a small enclosed field or meadow, while Lower adds the possibility of an old personal name underlying several place-names. The name also appears in English and Manx place-name material, which supports its use as a local surname form. Modern bearers are especially common in English-speaking countries, with the surname remaining relatively uncommon overall.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older dictionaries note that the same word family appears in place-names and in dialect forms meaning a small park or enclosure.
From the historical record
“either Padwell or Padhill, a local name. PADDOCK. 1. Paddoc, without prefix, is the H.R. form. It seems to l:)e a personal name, and to have originated, in A-Sax. times, several names of places, such as Pad- dockswood, Padoxhurst, &c. 2. A small park or enclosure. PADDY. 1. Apparently an ancient per- sonal name…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom