Work
An English surname that likely began as a place-based name for someone living by a fortification or defended work.
The #8,599 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 80,655 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Work is generally explained from Old English geweorc, meaning a fortification, defensive work, or other man-made structure. In medieval records it may have been used for someone who lived near such a feature or at a place identified by it. The form is related to the everyday English word work, but as a surname it is usually treated as topographic or locational rather than occupational.
History
Harrison specifically glosses the name as meaning a dweller by the fortification, and cites a medieval York form that seems to support that explanation. The surname appears to be comparatively uncommon and has also been confused at times with the much more common occupational surname Workman. In English-speaking countries it survives mainly as a minor surname rather than one tied to a large hereditary clan or single prominent family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The Old English source word behind this surname is the same one that appears in many place-names and in modern English words like 'work' and 'wrought' through related forms.
From the historical record
“WORHAM for Warham, q.v. WORK (Eng.) Dweller by the Fortification \0.^. ge)we{o)rc'\ Robert us del Werk. — Yorhs Poll-Tax, A.D. 1379. Cp. Wark. * WORKMAN (Eng.) [O.E. «;«(o)/-cmaBW, work- man, labourer] WORKSOP (Eug.) Bel. to Worksop (Notts), 12th cent. Worcheshope, Domes4ay H^ercA-”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)