Corpus
A rare surname from a Latin word meaning “body,” sometimes used in medieval records as a learned or religious-style name.
The #8,467 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 79,145 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Corpus is the Latin word for “body,” and it was widely used in church and learned language. As a surname, it is most likely a very rare formation taken directly from this Latin term, rather than from a native English occupational or place-name source. In medieval records, Latin words could sometimes harden into hereditary surnames, especially in clerical or religious settings.
History
The word was common in medieval ecclesiastical Latin, especially in phrases such as Corpus Christi. The surviving excerpts do not give a clear family-line explanation for the surname itself, so its exact path into hereditary use is uncertain. It remains a very uncommon surname in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Corpus is also the root of the familiar phrase Corpus Christi, meaning “the body of Christ.”
From the historical record
“and Inventories. W. to. Hediam Priory. W. II. Corpus Chriati Guild. W. 13. HiatorUe Dunelmeosis. W. 13. Barnes' Ecdes. Proceedings. W. 14. Visitation of Yorkshire. W. 15. Feodarium Prioratus Dunelmensis. W. 16. Depositions from YorK Castle.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances