Wine
A rare surname that may come from a medieval personal name element meaning “friend,” rather than from the drink itself.
The #7,674 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 71,353 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Wine is most plausibly linked to the old personal-name element wine, meaning “friend.” In early Germanic naming, this element appears widely in names such as Edwin, Godwin, and Baldwin, and it could also stand alone as a short name. The root is found across Old English, Old Norse, Old Saxon, and Old High German forms with the same basic meaning.
History
As a surname, Wine is likely to have arisen from a forename or nickname built on the old “friend” element, rather than directly from the beverage. Because the form is short and phonetically common, it may also have been influenced by local spelling variation or occasional association with occupational or descriptive surnames in records. It is uncommon in modern English-speaking populations.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same ancient word element behind Wine also helped form many familiar surnames ending in -win, such as Edwin and Godwin.
From the historical record
“McBrwine — mtkre = O. Sax. O.H.Ger. mdri, famous -f wine = O.Sax. O.H.Ger. wini, friend] 2 Sea-Friend IA.-Sax. Merewine— mere,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)