Springs
A locational surname most likely denoting someone who lived by, or came from, springs or a spring-fed place.
The #8,446 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 78,943 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is most naturally explained from Middle English and Old English spring in the topographic sense of a natural spring or spring of water, with the plural form pointing to a place marked by several springs. As with many English surnames, it could also have been taken from a habitation name or a local feature described by its water source. The form is straightforward and descriptive rather than occupational or patronymic.
History
English surname dictionaries more often discuss related place-based forms such as Ford, Forth, or names built on local water features, and the same logic fits Springs well. The name is relatively uncommon in modern records, suggesting it was never one of the major surname formations. In some cases it may reflect a family originally associated with a specific spring-rich locality.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older English place-naming, a spring could be important enough to become the defining feature of a settlement or estate, which is why water-related surnames are so common.
From the historical record
“Lichfield has for centuries received its water by piping from springs at Pipe (Staffs). PIPER (Eng. andSca.nd.) PiPER[M.E./i>r/ie/-(«, piper{e, OS,, pipere = O.N. />!>««] Richard le Pipere. — Pari. Writs.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)