True
A straightforward surname from Middle English meaning “faithful” or “loyal.”
The #4,303 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 37,374 Americans shares it.
Etymology
True comes from Middle English true and Old English trēowe, meaning faithful, loyal, or trustworthy. As a surname, it was most likely first used as a nickname for someone known for honesty or steadfastness. Related forms such as Truebody and Truecock show how the same element was sometimes expanded into compound bynames.
History
The name is recorded in English surname collections as an established descriptive byname, and it appears in related medieval and post-medieval forms. Its modern survival is modest but steady, with the spelling True remaining clear and unchanged. The surname also appears in compounds that preserve the older meaning more vividly than the short form alone.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The Old English root behind True is the same one that gave English the word “truth,” so the surname literally carries a sense of trustworthiness.
From the historical record
“TRUBRIDGE = Trowbridge, q.v. TRUE (Eng.) Faithful, Loyal [M.E. tre{o)we, etc., O.E. tredwe} TRUEBODY (Eng.), the i7th-cent. Truboddy, I3th-I4th cent. Treubodie [v. under True, and -I- O.E. bodig^ TRUECOCK (Eng.) = True (q.v.) -|- the E. pet suft. -cock.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)