Spurgeon
A Norfolk surname probably arising from an old local personal name, though one older writer also suggested a nickname based on “spur.”
The #4,981 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 43,812 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is usually treated as a Norfolk form developed from an older personal name, with related spellings such as Spurgin and Sprigin. The historical notes point to a local name that later settled into the modern surname form Spurgeon, rather than to a straightforward occupational meaning. One 19th-century writer also floated a nickname explanation from “spur,” but that idea is less secure.
History
The name is especially associated with Norfolk in the historical surname literature. Bardsley and Harrison both connect Spurgeon with older Norfolk forms and related variants, showing how the spelling shifted over time. The surname later spread beyond East Anglia and is now best known internationally through the preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the famous Baptist preacher, helped make the surname widely recognized far beyond its Norfolk roots.
From the historical record
“Norfolk Sprigin, through the i6th-cent. form Spurgynne (v. Spriggin). This is not impossible ; but Spurgeon would readily represent a conceivable nickname 'Spur-John'. SPURUING = Spup' (q.v.) + the (double) dim. suff. -l-ing. : cp. the Ger. Sperling,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)