Stump
A nickname or topographic surname from the word for a tree stump, or someone who lived by one.
The #2,539 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 21,656 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname most likely comes from the common word stump, meaning the stump or short remaining trunk of a cut-down tree. In medieval English naming, such words often became surnames either for someone living near a noticeable stump or cleared patch of land, or for a person with a stocky, stumpy build or a similar nickname. The deeper root is Germanic, and related forms are found across several northern European languages.
History
The name is recorded in English-speaking areas and follows the same pattern as other surnames built from landscape features such as Stubbs and Stocks. It may also have been reinforced by later spelling variation from related forms like Stubb and Stob. In the United States, Stump is established but not especially common.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older surname studies, words like stock, stub, and stump were often treated as very close cousins, because all could describe a cut tree trunk or cleared place.
From the historical record
“' Stumpy Clearing or Plain ' [Wei. rhath, a cleared spot, plain (conn, with Ir. rath) H- Wei. bon, a stock, stump, stem (conn, with Ir. and Gael, bonn, a foundation, base] andis apparently aUied to'Ratisbon.' RATHBORNE i for Rathbone, q.v. 2 for Rad borne, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)