Doolittle
An English surname that likely began as a nickname for someone thought to do little or be of slight industry.
The #5,080 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 44,791 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as an English nickname built from the phrase "do little," meaning someone who did little work or little of importance. Some 19th-century writers also treated it as a corruption of the Scottish personal name Dugald, but the nickname explanation is the better-known and more natural one. The name may also have been influenced by older spelling habits that joined words into a fixed hereditary surname.
History
Doolittle appears in English and Scottish surname lists by the 18th and 19th centuries, and it was noted by surname writers as a comic or descriptive byname. In later usage it became best known in the United States through the surname of people such as General Jimmy Doolittle. The name's humorous sound made it a favorite example in books about odd or expressive surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Writers on surnames often quoted Doolittle as a classic example of a name that sounds like a phrase rather than a family name.
From the historical record
“corruption of the Scottish Dugald. DOOLITTLE. I fear that the original owner of this name was a lazy fellow, though some of his descendants have been distinguished for zeal and industry. DOON. 1. A-Sax. dun, a hill. 2. A ' bonny ' river with ' banks and braes,' in Ayrshire. DOORS. Dores, a castle said to have been…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Doolittle
- H.D. (1886–1961)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.