Cardinal
A surname often taken from the ecclesiastical title or used as a nickname for someone associated with a cardinal.
The #7,275 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 67,412 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as a nickname from the ecclesiastical title cardinal, ultimately from Latin cardo, meaning “hinge,” a metaphor for a person seen as a principal or pivotal figure. In medieval records it appears in forms like le Cardin or Cardin, showing that it could be applied as a byname rather than a hereditary family name at first. In some cases it may also have been influenced by French spelling and usage.
History
The name is found in medieval English records, and later appears in Britain and North America. Bardsley and other older surname writers treated it as a nickname surname connected with the church title, though they also note related forms and spellings such as Cardin. It is not a very common surname, but it has remained in use and can be found in modern English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers compared it with other office-based surnames such as Bishop, Archdeacon, and Dean, because all were formed from titles that could become family names.
From the historical record
“No doubt this surname was attached to Durham Cathedral It still exists in Sunderland, and has reached Liverpool, and in a modified form is found in New York. Cardinal Langley was buried in the Galilee of Durham in 1437. Now go to the Western Country. A iwitcken was an alley or passage that went between two…”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances