Padgett
A surname with several overlapping origins, most often linked to Paget or to a nickname based on Madge/Madge-like forms.
The #1,397 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 12,149 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Padgett is usually explained as a spelling variant of Paget, an English surname of French origin, though some writers also connect it with Padge, a rhyming form of Madge. In that view, the name could be a diminutive or altered form ultimately tied to a personal name rather than a place. Older sources also note confusion with the Derbyshire local surname Padley, so more than one line may have contributed to the modern spelling.
History
19th- and early-20th-century surname writers disagree on the exact source of Padgett, and they often treat it as a variant of Paget or as a related altered form. The name is well established in English records, and later usage in Britain and the United States reflects the usual spread of English surnames through migration and spelling variation. Because several similar names were in circulation, some bearers may descend from different origins even when the spelling is the same.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older surname writers thought Padgett could be a rhyming twist on Madge, showing how playful nickname forms sometimes became fixed family names.
From the historical record
“PADGET \ PADGETT \ for Paget, q.v. PADGIT J - PADLEY (Eng.) Bel. to Padley ; or Dweller at .1 the Path-Lea [O.E.^ffi« + ledh (M.E. ley] 2 Pad(d)a's Lea. The Derbyshire Padley was Paddeleye in the 13th cent.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)