Paris
A surname that usually means “from Paris,” the famous French capital.
The #2,033 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,436 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally taken from the French place-name Paris, especially the capital of France. In older surname collections, it is explained as a locational name for someone who came from Paris or was identified with the city. The place-name itself is ancient and predates the surname, with the deeper origin of the city name still debated.
History
The name appears in medieval English records as an imported French surname, and it was already being treated that way by 19th-century surname writers. Lower specifically notes that many English families with the name likely came from France, and he gives early English examples of the spelling Parris. The spelling Paris and the variant Parris both remained in use in Britain and later in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Paris is also a famous first name and city name, the surname can be easy to misread as a reference to the capital even when it has simply been passed down as a family name.
From the historical record
“959, and also in the 13th cent. PARIS \ (Lat.-Celt.) Bel. to Paris = the PARISS J Town of the Gaulish Tribe Parish [The Roman name of the place which is now called Paris was Z.Mteizai'arazorMjM: Lutetia was supposed by Whitley Stokes to be for Lucetia, , ' the light or bright place' ; the tribal name is of doubtful…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)