Pan
A rare surname with uncertain roots, possibly linked to an old Germanic personal name or to the medieval office of palm-bearer/pilgrim.
The #2,847 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 24,380 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Pan is difficult to pin down. One 19th-century authority linked it to an Old German name, Panno, while another discussed it alongside medieval forms connected with palmer, the name for a pilgrim who carried a palm staff or branch. Because the surviving evidence is sparse and the forms are short and easily confused with other names and words, the exact origin remains uncertain.
History
The name appears rarely in historical English sources and is not well established as a major hereditary surname. In some cases it may have been confused with or shortened from other surnames beginning with Pan-, while in others it may reflect an old personal name rather than an occupational byname. Modern bearers in the United States likely represent more than one origin stream.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Pan is so short, older surname dictionaries sometimes treated it as a form of a different name rather than a surname with a clear independent history.
From the historical record
“but I cannot find the word there. PAN COAST, a well-known American corrupt form of Pankhurst, q.v. ' PANCRUST for Pankhurst, q.v. PANG BORN 1 (Eng.) Bel. to Pangbourn PANG BOU RN \ (Berks), A.D. 843-4 Pteginga- PANG BOURNE J burna = the Br,ook of the Pmg{a. Family {-inga, genit, pi. of the”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)