Rushing
An English surname that likely began as a nickname or descriptive name linked to speed or impetuous movement.
The #1,827 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,749 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is probably built on the English word "rush" plus the agentive/participle ending "-ing," giving the sense of someone who rushes or moves quickly. In older surname writing, it may have been used as a descriptive nickname for an energetic, impetuous, or fast-moving person. It could also in some cases reflect a place- or stream-name, since early writers often connected similar forms with swift water.
History
The historical excerpts supplied do not give a clear dedicated entry for Rushing, but they do support the idea that related forms were interpreted as describing rushing motion or swift water. In English-speaking countries, surnames of this kind often stabilized from nicknames or local descriptive labels and later became hereditary. The modern surname is especially familiar in the United States, where it is established but not among the most common names.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because older surname scholars sometimes linked similar forms to both personal nicknames and swift streams, a name like Rushing can sit right at the boundary between character-based and place-based origins.
From the historical record
“[O.E. ham{m, a piece of land, enclosure : the river-name may be from the early form of Wei. rhuthr, a rushing— rA«ttw, to rush] doTucdSc 1 (A.-Celt.) Anglicizations of the ROTHERY J ^^'- Rhydderch : vJRhydderoh.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)