Pleasant
A nickname surname from French and Anglo-French meaning “pleasant,” “cheerful,” or “jovial.”
The #4,791 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 41,847 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname comes from the Old French word plaisant, meaning pleasant, agreeable, or amusing, ultimately from Latin placere, “to please.” It was likely first applied as a nickname to someone cheerful, sociable, or good-humoured. Some 19th-century writers also connected it with senses like “jester” or “humourist,” reflecting how the word was used in French.
History
Lower explicitly treats Pleasant as a descriptive nickname surname, and Harrison likewise derives it from French plaisant. The name is well established in English-speaking records and later became especially visible in the United States. It may also sometimes reflect translation or adaptation of similar Continental nickname forms.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is essentially the same word as the modern English adjective “pleasant,” just carried into family-name use through French.
From the historical record
“2 Pleasant's (Son) : v. Pleasant. PLEASANT (A.-Fr.-Lat.) the French Plaisant •= Pleasant, Droll ; Jester, Humour- ist [O.F. plaisant,-p\ei3.sm^,i. plaisirf'LaX. placere, to please] PLESTU for Plastow, q.v. PLEVIN (Fr.) Pledge [O.Fi. plevine, a pledge; f. O.Fr. plevir, to pledge] PLEW, a North, fotia of Plow, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)