Sunday
A surname that usually began as a nickname or given name taken from the day of the week.
The #9,147 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 86,556 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname comes from the word for the day of the week, from Old English sunnandæg and Middle English forms such as sunedai and sunnedei. In medieval use, it could serve as a nickname or personal name for someone born on Sunday, or perhaps for a person associated in some way with that day. It belongs to the small group of surnames formed from the names of the days of the week.
History
English surname writers have long grouped Sunday with other day-name surnames such as Monday, Friday, and Saturday. The name appears in historical records as an inherited surname rather than only as a literal calendar label. It is uncommon today, but the form has remained straightforward and recognizable.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower noted Sunday among surnames borrowed from the days of the week, alongside Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
From the historical record
“SUMPTON, a corrupt form of Somerton, q.v. SUNDAY (Eng.) a nickname and pers. name from the day [M.E. sunedai, sunnedei, etc., O.E. sunnan-dceg\ SUNDERLAND (Eng.) Bel. to Sunderland; or Dweller at the Private or Reserved Land (land set apart') [O.E. sundarland] The Lane. Sunderland was Sunderland in the 13th and…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)