Pollock
A Scottish surname from a place-name in Renfrewshire, originally tied to a Gaelic word for a pit, pool, or hollow.
The #1,543 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,245 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Pollock is chiefly a locational surname, taken from the parish and estate of Pollok in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The place-name is usually explained from Gaelic pollag, a diminutive of poll, meaning “pool,” “pit,” or “hollow.” Older writers also linked it with a “little pit” sense, which fits the same root family. Some 19th-century sources wrongly tried to connect it with the personal name Paul, but the place-name explanation is the standard one.
History
The Pollok family were long styled “of that Ilk,” meaning they took their surname from the lands they held. Historical spellings and pronunciations vary, and the name has also produced shortened forms such as Polk. In North America, Pollock is now best known as a surname of Scottish origin, though the spelling has also been used outside Scotland and may occasionally be confused with similar-sounding names.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century source notes that the name was often pronounced locally as “Pock” or “Polk.”
From the historical record
“POLLMAN, a weak form of Poolman, q.v. POLLOCK ) (A.-Lat.) = Paul . (q.v.) + the POLLOK S E. dim. suff. -ock [O.E. -oc\ (Celt.) Dweller at i the Place of Holes or Pits [Gael, (and Ir.) pollack — poll, a hole, pit, pool + the plea. suff. -acK\ 2 the Little Pit [Gael, pollag] Pollo(c)kshaws, Glasgow, was Pollock”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)