Urban
A surname from the Latin word for “city-dweller” or “civil, courteous,” often first used as a given name before becoming hereditary.
The #1,790 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,393 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Urban comes from Latin Urbanus, a personal name and adjective built on urbs, meaning “city.” In medieval and later use, it carried the sense of someone from a town, or more broadly someone polished, civil, or courtly. As a surname, it often began as a patronymic: “son of Urban,” where Urban had first been used as a given name.
History
The name spread widely across Western Europe through Christian and classical usage, helped by the prominence of several popes named Urban. English surname collections record it both as a baptismal surname and as a form associated with learned or urban manners. In Irish records, it appears as a family name in county lists, showing that it was in use beyond its original Latin-speaking contexts.
Origin
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Fun fact
Because the Latin root urbs means “city,” Urban is one of those surnames whose oldest sense is almost the exact opposite of “rustic.”
From the historical record
“URAN, see the commoner form Urian. URBAN (A.-Lat.) Urbane [Lat. Urban-us, belonging to a city (urbs\ URCY 1 (Fr.) One from Urcy, Urjay (France), URSY J the M.Lat. Ursiacum = i\\e Estate of Ursus [the pers. name is Lat. ursus, a bear ; the suff. is the Lat. -Gaul, possess. -dc-um\”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)