Welty
Welty is most likely a Germanic surname that developed as a shortened or altered form of a personal name such as Walti or Walther-type names.
The #6,894 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 63,319 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Welty is generally treated as a Germanic surname, probably arising from a personal name rather than from a place or occupation. The cited source links it with forms such as Walti, suggesting a development from a short, familiar form of an older Germanic given name. In that tradition, the name would have meant something like a descendant or associate of the man called by that personal name.
History
The name appears in German-speaking surname traditions and was later carried into North America by immigrants and their descendants. In the United States it is found chiefly among families of German or Swiss-German background. The exact route from Walti to Welty is not fully certain, but the overall pattern fits many surnames that evolved from pet forms of given names.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A single historical index note equates Welty with Walti, showing how closely related spellings could be in older surname records.
From the historical record
“Weitzel, p. 309 Welchans, p. 309 Welty = Walti, Wenger, p. 308 Wenrich, p. 308 Wentz, p. 308 Werner, p. 308 Werts = Wirtz,”
— Studies in Pennsylvania German Family Names