Springer
An old nickname surname meaning “the leaper” or “one who sprang/jumped.”
The #1,107 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 9,757 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally explained as a nickname from the verb spring, meaning to leap or jump, with the agent suffix -er giving the sense “one who springs” or “leaper.” Some early writers also treated it as a sobriquet for someone lively, agile, or physically springy. In German, a closely related Springer has the same basic sense and was also used for dancers or entertainers.
History
Springer appears in both English and German surname traditions, and the name has long been understood as descriptive rather than local. Nineteenth-century surname writers linked it to personal activity or agility, and German sources note that medieval “springers” could refer to dancers, jugglers, or wandering performers. In English records, it survives as a fairly common surname and may also have been reinforced by later spelling simplification from related names.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some German sources note that medieval Springer could describe a dancer or juggler, not just someone who literally jumped.
From the historical record
“SPRING. See Times and Seasons. SPRINGER. A sobriquet relating to the elasticity of the first bearer. SPRINGETT. As this Kent and Sussex name is often spelt Springate, it is probably local, although I do not find any place so designated. SPRINGLE. Perhaps Springkell, a place at Kirkpatrick-Flemiug, co. Dum- fries.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom