Craft
A surname usually linked to Croft, meaning a small enclosed farm or field, especially in northern English usage.
The #1,116 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 9,816 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally explained as a form of Croft, the word for a small enclosed piece of land, especially a little field or farm enclosure. In northern English speech, Croft could be pronounced or written as Craft, and some family names preserve that local pronunciation. Related surnames such as Crafter are often treated as occupational or resident names based on the same word.
History
19th-century surname writers often grouped Craft with Croft and treated it as a northern spelling or pronunciation variant. Because of that, some families with this name may descend from people living by or working a croft rather than from the modern English word "craft" in the sense of skill or trade. The name is also found in forms like Horscraft and Calcraft, which preserve the same ending.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books explicitly note Craft as a northern pronunciation of Croft, not as a reference to artistic skill or manual craft.
From the historical record
“CRAFFORD. See Crawford. ^^CRAFT. A corruption of Croft, as in Horscraft, Calcraft, &c. See Croft. CRAFT. A northern pronunciation of Croft. CRAFTER. The occupant of a craft (croft), or small piece of laud. Jamiesou. CRAGG. CRAGGS. See Craig.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom