Young
A common surname for someone identified as the younger or as a youth.
The #32 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 637 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Young comes from a descriptive word meaning “young” or “the younger.” The surname was often used to distinguish a son from his father, or simply to label someone who was notably youthful in the community. The Old English root is geong, with Middle English forms like yong and yonge; the same idea appears in French Le Jeune and in Latin-derived names such as Juvenis.
History
The name is very common in England and Scotland, where it could arise independently in many places as a nickname or byname. Early records show forms such as Le Yonge and Yonge, and writers on surnames noted that it often functioned much like “Junior.” In some cases, especially in directories and later records, Young may also reflect Anglicization of related continental names.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because it describes a relative age rather than a single family line, Young could appear in many unrelated branches long before surnames became fixed.
From the historical record
“YOUMANS, V. Yeomans. YOUNG "I (Eng.) This name doubtless owes YOUNGE I ifs C9mmonness to being used in the sense of 'the younger' or 'junior' [M.E. yong{e, yung{e, O.E. geong, young] . John le Yonge. — ffund.^RoUs. Young, in our directories, is often a recent Anglicization of the cognate Gei-. Jung.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)