York
A surname usually taken from the English city of York, originally from an ancient Brittonic place-name later reshaped by Latin and Old English.
The #642 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,819 Americans shares it.
Etymology
York is primarily a locational surname for someone who came from the city of York in northern England. The city’s name goes back through Old English and Old Norse forms to Roman and pre-Roman names such as Eboracum, which scholars connect with a Brittonic root meaning something like "yew tree" or possibly a personal name related to that idea. In other words, the surname ultimately points to the place-name, not to the English word "york" itself.
History
Medieval records show the city name in forms like Yorke and other spellings, and families who moved away from the city could be identified by it as their place of origin. Because York was one of England’s major northern centers, the surname became established in several different lines rather than tracing to a single family. It also spread to the United States through later British immigration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The city-name behind York is very old: its Roman form was Eboracum, long before the modern spelling appeared.
From the historical record
“YORATH for Yopwarth, q.v. YORK "1 (A.-Lat.-Celt.) Bel. tp York, the YORKE 1 M.E. Yorke, York, DomesAay Euruic, O.N. loruik, A.-Sax. Eoforwic, Eoferwic [eof0r,-er (f as vj, boar -t- w(c, place],' Lat. Eboracum, Eburacum (b prob. pron. nearly- as v) — Eburos's Estate [Eburacum is the Roman form of an O.Celt.…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)