Tiffany
A surname that began as a baptismal name for children born on Epiphany, the feast of the manifestation of Christ.
The #6,900 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 63,384 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname comes from the old personal name Theophania, ultimately from Greek theophania, meaning “manifestation of God” or “appearance of God.” In medieval French it became Tiphaine or Tiffaine, and in English it was used as a baptismal or “font” name for a child born or baptized on Epiphany (6 January). The surname Tiffany developed from that given name, with shorter forms such as Tiffen also recorded.
History
Historical sources from England record medieval bearers of the name, and 19th-century surname writers specifically note Tiffany as an Epiphany name. It appears to have been used for either sex as a given name before becoming hereditary as a surname. The name later spread into wider English-speaking use, though it has always been relatively uncommon as a surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries group Tiffany with other calendar names like Christmas, Michaelmas, and Noel, because all began as names tied to feast days.
From the historical record
“Matheson,5/>c/.i?/'<.S«m/rW.(i909),p.73. TIFFANY "1 (A.-Fr.-Lat.-Gr.)DiviNE Showing TIFFEN [[Fr. Tiphaine, Theophanie, Lat.. TIFFIN } Theophania, Gt. eto^d «o — Geiis, God -t- a der. of ipalvav, to show] Cristina Typhayn. — Soms. Subs. Roll, A.D. 1327. This name seems to have been given to a child(of…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)