Worthen
Worthen is most likely a place-based English surname, probably originally meaning someone from or near a rough, scrubby, or coarse patch of land.
The #7,888 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 73,563 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Worthen is generally treated as an English locational surname, from a place name such as Worthen in Shropshire or from a settlement formed with Old English elements related to "worth" or "weorth". In surname use, that kind of name usually meant "from Worthen" or "of the enclosure/farmstead" rather than a descriptive nickname. The exact place-name history is not certain from the excerpt alone, but the form fits a common English locational pattern.
History
Like many English surnames, Worthen would have become hereditary after people moved away from their original home village and were identified by its name. The surname is now relatively uncommon, with a noticeable modern presence in the United States. Historical spellings are not given in the excerpt, so the development of the specific surname form cannot be traced closely here.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Names built from the element worth- are common in English place-names and often point to an enclosed homestead or a settled farmstead.
From the historical record
“Wort, 455. Worth, 117, 117.* Worthen, 455. Worthington, 301. Worthley, 224. Worthman, 117. Worthy, 119. Worthylake, 465.”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)