Vaughn
A Welsh surname meaning “little” or “small,” originally a nickname or personal name.
The #356 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 3,506 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Vaughn is a spelling variant of Welsh Vaughan, from bychan or vychan, meaning “little” or “small.” The name began as a descriptive nickname and could also function as a personal name in medieval Wales. Historical spellings recorded in English documents include forms like Vachan and Vaghan.
History
The surname is well established in Wales and appears in medieval records, with 13th-century examples cited by 19th-century scholars. Vaughn became a common Anglicized spelling, especially in English-speaking countries, and is often treated as an American spelling of Vaughan. Some older writers also linked it with the related surname Vaux, though the Welsh derivation is the standard explanation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A well-known anecdote in the literature tells of a Welshman with a long chain of ap-names who was encouraged by a judge to adopt a simpler surname; stories like that helped make surnames such as Vaughn feel especially “Welsh” to later readers.
From the historical record
“VAUGHAN\(Celt.) Little, Small [Wei. VAUGHN I Vychan, mutation of bychan\ Rys Vychan. — Brut y Tywysogion, A.D. 1248, In I3th-cent. West.English records we find the forms Vachan and Vaghan. \ = Vaux, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)