Southern
A surname meaning “the southerner,” originally used for someone from the south or the southern part of a region.
The #4,587 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 39,900 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname comes from Old English words for “south” and “southern,” referring to someone who came from the south or lived in the southern part of a district. In medieval English records it could function as a descriptive byname: essentially, “the man from the south.” The form also overlaps with place-based uses in some cases, especially where a family was associated with a more southerly farm, enclosure, or settlement.
History
The surname is recorded in English sources in forms such as Southern and, in older spellings, Southorn. It appears to have developed independently in more than one place, sometimes as a simple regional nickname and sometimes from local topographic or habitational descriptions. The name is not especially common in the United States today, but it remains established in England and other English-speaking areas.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same basic idea lies behind several old surname forms: a person could be labeled by direction just as easily as by occupation or parentage.
From the historical record
“Coate] SOUTHERN 1 (Eng.) Southerner [O.E. SOUTHORN ) suVeme, southern] Cp. Sother(a)n. SOUTHERTON (Eng.) Bel. to So(u)therton ; or Dweller at the Southern (or More Southern) Enclosure or Farm [O.E. su'Seme, southein (orthecompar., j«itS(e)ra,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)