Shorter
A surname that usually began as a nickname for a smaller or shorter person, though some sources also treat it as a variant of other Short- names.
The #4,092 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 35,590 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The most straightforward explanation is that Shorter comes from the English adjective short, from Old English sceort, with the comparative ending -er meaning “more short” or “shorter.” In that sense, it would originally have been a nickname for someone of lesser stature. Some 19th-century writers also suggested confusion with other surnames beginning with Short-, so a few families may have taken the name through variant spelling or related forms.
History
The name is recorded in English surname collections, where it is treated as a fairly direct descriptive nickname. Because Short- surnames are numerous, later spelling overlap with forms such as Short, Shortt, and related names is possible in some lines. It is found in Britain and later in the English-speaking world, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century source glossed Shorter quite literally as “the littler,” showing how transparently medieval nicknames could become inherited surnames.
From the historical record
“heal(h, nook] SHORTER (Eng.) (the) Littler [compar. of Short] SHORTHOSE (Eng.) a nickname from Short Hose [O.E. sc(e)ort, short -t- hosa, pi. hosan, hose, stockings] SHORTING (Eng.) Dweller at the Short Meadow [O.E. ic(e)ort, short -|- O.North.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)