Calvert
Most likely a northern English surname from an occupational nickname meaning “calf-herd,” though one line of later scholarship also connected it with a place-name or French form.
The #2,043 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,523 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The most commonly cited explanation breaks Calvert down as a reduced form of an old herd-name: “calve-herd,” meaning someone who tended calves. In medieval spelling and pronunciation, the middle sounds were often worn down, producing forms like Calvert. Some older writers also proposed other origins, including a place-name source or a French connection, but the occupational explanation is the strongest and best matches the surname pattern.
History
The name appears especially in northern English material, where many livestock-based surnames developed. It is also associated with Yorkshire in older surname dictionaries. The surname later spread beyond England, including to families established in other parts of the British Isles and in North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers liked to compare Calvert with other herd-names such as Coward and Oxnard, all of which preserve traces of medieval animal-tending occupations.
From the historical record
“progeny. CALVERT. The baronet's family trace to a Mr. C, who was minister of AndoA'cr, CO. Hants, in the XVI. cent., and probably of French extraction. CALWAY. See Callaway. CAI\r. Rivers in cos. Cambridge and Gloucester. Del Cam, and De Cam. H.R. CAMBER. 1. A place in E. Sussex. 2. An ancient form of Comber. 3. A-”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom