Paradise
A surname usually referring to someone who lived by a place nicknamed “Paradise,” such as a pleasant spot or monastic open space.
The #7,933 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 74,040 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is best explained as a locational name. Early writers linked it to a place called Paradise, either a beautiful spot or, in medieval usage, an open court or precinct by a church or monastery. The underlying word ultimately goes back through French and Latin to Greek paradeisos, originally meaning a park or enclosed pleasure-ground.
History
English surname writers noted that forms like Paradis, Paradice, and Paradise were used for people identified by residence near such a place. The name appears to have been much less common in English than in France, where Paradis is the usual form. In the United States it remained relatively uncommon, but it is straightforwardly inherited from the English surname tradition.
Origin
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Fun fact
In medieval and early modern English, “paradise” could mean more than heaven: it could also describe a pleasant or sheltered place near a church or monastery.
From the historical record
“PARADICE ) (A.-Fr.-Lat.-Gr.-Pers.) i Dweller' PARADIS [ at a Paradise,, i.e. an open PARADISE ) space or court by a monastery or church. 2 a pers. name [Fr. paradis ; Lat. paradis-us, Gr. wapddeur-os, a park, garden, or pleasure-ground — used in the Septuagint for the Garden of Eden : from the Zend] The surname…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)