Geneanet > Resources > Family Names > YOUNG

Origin and popularity of the name YOUNG

Origin

Young : 1: English Scottish and northern Irish: nickname from Middle English yong ‘young’ (Old English geong) used to distinguish a younger man from an older man bearing the same personal name (typically father and son). In Middle English this name is often found with the Anglo-Norman French definite article for example Robert le Yunge. In Gaelic-speaking areas of Scotland this was widely used as an English equivalent of the Gaelic nickname Og ‘young’; see Ogg. This surname is also very common among African Americans.2: Americanized form (translation into English) of various European surnames meaning ‘young’ or similar notably German Jung Dutch Jong and De Jong and French Lejeune and Lajeunesse.3: Americanized form of Swedish Ljung: topographic or an ornamental name from ljung ‘(field of) heather’ or a habitational name from a placename containing this word e.g. Ljungby.4: Americanized form of French Guyon reflecting the specific former French Canadian pronunciation of the initial G- followed by a vowel or of one of its altered forms such as Yon 3.5: Native American: translation into English and shortening of a personal name composed of a word meaning ‘young’ or ‘little’ such as Lakota Sioux Mato Čikala ‘Little Bear’ or ‘Young Bear’ (see Youngbear).6: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 楊 and 陽 see Yang 1 and 2.7: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 容 see Rong 2.8: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 翁 see Weng 2.

More

Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
FANBI : The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain, ©2021, University of the West of England

Subject to the Terms and Conditions of Ancestry

Last name frequency

Geographic distribution of the 332,473 individuals with the name YOUNG on Geneanet.

 

Most found places for the name YOUNG:

    This last name in the family trees

    See below the Geneanet members' family trees which contain the last name YOUNG

    littlerider61
    (2,719 individuals)
    cartercousins2022
    (2,668 individuals)
    wbuchanan
    (1,558 individuals)
    samueltaylorgeer
    (1,517 individuals)

    Search another name

    Search 8 billion individuals

    Search 8 billion individuals

    Search the name of your ancestors and your family in a database of 9 billion indexed individuals on Geneanet.

    Search YOUNG

    Start your family tree

    Start your family tree

    Create your family tree and take advantage of valuable tips to help you search your ancestors.

    Start your family tree