Payan
A surname that likely began as a medieval byname from Pagan/Pain, ultimately meaning “heathen” or “villager.”
The #5,403 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 47,920 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is best understood as a descendant of medieval forms like Payn, Pain, and Pagan. The underlying word goes back to Latin paganus, originally meaning “villager” or “country-dweller,” and later used in Christian Latin for “heathen” or “pagan.” In surname use, it most likely began as a personal-name derivative, meaning “son of Pagan/Pain” or someone identified by that name.
History
The name is recorded in medieval English naming as Payn/Payn(e), with Payan appearing as a later or regional spelling. Historical surname writers often linked it to the common medieval personal name Pagan, which was widespread in Anglo-Norman England. Modern Payan may also reflect French spelling influence, since similar forms occur in French surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The root behind this surname once meant simply “countryman” before shifting to the religious sense “pagan.”
From the historical record
“PAYE J from the Peacock [M.E. pa, pe, O.E. ped, pdwa, Lat. pauo, a peacock] PAYAN \ see the commoner (but less correct) PAYEN ; Payn(e. PAYBODY, V. Peabody. PAYLING.v. Paling. PAYN 1 ( A.-Fr.-Lat. ) lit. Rustic; Pagan, PAYNE J Heathen [M.E. pain, payn, payen, O.Fr. payen, pagien (Fr. paten), pagan ; L.a.t…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)