Culver
Originally a nickname for a dove or pigeon, with some related surnames pointing to a dovecote.
The #2,051 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,576 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname comes from the old word for a pigeon or dove, ultimately from Old English and used in Middle English as culver. It was likely first given as a nickname to someone thought to resemble a dove, or perhaps to a person connected with keeping pigeons. A closely related form, Culverhouse, refers to a dovecote or pigeon-house.
History
19th-century surname writers consistently connect Culver with the bird-name meaning "pigeon" or "dove." The form also appears in related names such as Culverhouse, which strengthens the link to birds and dovecotes. In England the name survives in several spellings, and it later spread to North America through ordinary migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Pigeon-post was once important enough that medieval writers could mention letters tied to a dove's neck, and that old image turns up in historical notes on this surname.
From the historical record
“ford. CULVER. A pigeon. See Dove. Among the ni.ii-vfls of the East, Sir J.Mauiuleville mentions that people besieged in a town, so as to be cut off from succour " maken letters, and b>-nden liem to the nekke of a coli'cr, and letten the coh'er flee." p. 118. A-Sax. cul/re. CULVERHOUSE. A dove-cot. See Culver.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom