Sheridan
An Irish surname most often explained as meaning “descendant of the wild one” or “descendant of a satyr-like figure,” though some older writers linked it to a place-name instead.
The #1,623 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,922 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical explanation treats Sheridan as an Anglicized Irish surname from Gaelic forms such as O'Siroidáin / O'Sirideán, usually connected with siride, meaning a satyr or wild, uncivil figure, plus a diminutive ending. In that reading, the name points to an ancestor known by a nickname rather than to a profession or location. Some 19th-century writers, however, also suggested an English place-name source for certain Sheridans, so the etymology is not entirely free from dispute.
History
The name is especially associated with Ireland, and 19th- and early-20th-century surname writers noted many local spellings and corrupt variants. It became well established in Anglophone records through Irish migration, and today it is found widely in Ireland, Britain, North America, and other English-speaking countries. Older scholarship sometimes debated whether every Sheridan line had the same origin, so family-specific history can vary.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One historical source described Sheridan as having “eleven more or less corrupt variants” in parts of Ireland, a reminder of how fluid surname spelling could be before standardization.
From the historical record
“Cp. the (rare) surname Purgold. SHERIDAN ] (Celt.) the Ir. Seireadan, Siri- SHEREDAN \dean (a nickname) = Satyr, SHERRIDAN J Wild Man [Ir. siride + the dim. suif. -dn\ According to Matheson's 'Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland,' igoi (p. 60), there are current in various parts of…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)