Sunderland
A locational surname from the English town of Sunderland, probably understood as “the separate or reserved land.”
The #7,572 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 70,377 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Sunderland is chiefly a habitational surname taken from the place-name Sunderland in Durham, England. Historical explanations link the place-name to Old English elements meaning “separated” or “reserved” + “land,” giving the sense of land set apart. Some 19th-century writers also interpreted it simply as the name of the seaport town on the River Wear.
History
The surname is documented in England and was long associated with the Durham area, especially the cathedral city and nearby localities. It later spread to other English towns such as Liverpool and also appears in North American records. The place-name itself is very old, appearing in medieval spellings such as Sounderland and Sundrelofiwic.
Origin
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Fun fact
The surname may originally have referred not to the modern city as a whole, but to land that had been marked off or set aside.
From the historical record
“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 14th cent. ; the Yorks Sunderlandwick was Sundrelofiwic in Domesday-Book ; the Durham place was Sounderland in Boldon Book. ;”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)