Worth
A surname that usually began as a place-name, meaning someone who lived by a farmstead, enclosure, or river bank.
The #4,598 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 40,029 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Worth is an English surname with several overlapping place-name senses. In medieval English, worth could mean an enclosed homestead or farm, and in some contexts it was also used for a shore or river-bank. So the name usually identified someone as being from a place called Worth, or as a person who lived at or near such a settlement or feature.
History
The surname is recorded in medieval forms such as de Wurthe in the early 13th century, showing its use as a local name. Over time it became established as a hereditary surname and also helped generate related forms in compounds such as Whitworth, Langworthy, and Kenworthy. Because the underlying word was common in English place-names, Worth can point to more than one geographic origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The old English word behind Worth survives widely in English place-names, especially in the Midlands and northern counties.
From the historical record
“[= worthy, honourable, beloved]. WORTH (Eng.) i Bel. to Worth ; or Dweller at (a) the Worth, i.e. the Farm [O.E. w{e)or^] ; (J) the Shore or River-Bank [O.E. w(e)ai^, wardS] Roger' fil. Jordani de Wurthe. — Charter-Rolls, A.D. 1234-5.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)