Stackhouse
An English habitational surname from a place-name ending in “-house,” most likely meaning someone who lived by or came from a house or building called the stack house.
The #5,906 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 52,831 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Stackhouse is generally understood as an English habitational surname built from the elements "stack" and "house." The first element likely refers to a stack or pile, especially a stack of hay or grain, so the name would originally mean "house by the stack" or "house at the stack house." In surname form, it most probably identified someone from a place with that name rather than describing a person’s occupation directly.
History
The surname is found in English records and later appears in North America, where it remained uncommon but steady. The 1861 source excerpts show Stackhouse families in several Canadian and U.S. locations, suggesting an established spread among English-speaking settler communities by the 19th century. It is also associated with English place-names such as Stackhouse in Yorkshire, which is often cited as a likely source for the surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The ending "-house" often points to an old place-name, so surnames like Stackhouse frequently preserve tiny bits of medieval local geography.
From the historical record
“breech-loading carabine. Mr. Block lives at New- buryport ; iMr. Hamlet, at Dracut. In New A'ork are families of Shopp and Shopps. Mr. Stackhouse is found in the Directory of 1841. Hursthouse's " New Zealand " appeared in 1857. Mr. Backhouse is 39”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)