Puckett
An English surname with several possible origins, most likely from a medieval nickname or from an earlier place-name form.
The #1,273 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 11,175 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical sources do not agree on a single certain derivation. One line of explanation treats Puckett as related to an older name or nickname such as Pook/Puck, with the ending -ett giving a diminutive sense like “little Puck.” Another possibility, noted in older surname dictionaries, is a link to a Norman French place-name or personal name now obscured by time and spelling change. The evidence is not strong enough to choose one derivation with confidence.
History
The name appears in English records in several spelling forms, and later English and American bearers seem to come from the same general surname stock. By the 19th and 20th centuries it was established as a fairly ordinary English-language surname, and it later became well represented in the United States. Because the early documentation is thin and the older books are speculative, the surname’s exact starting point remains uncertain.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The ending -ett often makes old surnames feel diminutive, which is one reason Puckett has sometimes been interpreted as a “small Puck” type of name.
From the historical record
“rick (the red). See Brodrick Pryke. See Prigg Puckett. G. Puchat; a p.n. See Pook. Dim. Puckey. From Puchay ; a loc. n., Norm. Or see Pook Puckle. G. Puchelt ; FI. Puckle ;”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)