Farris
Usually a variant of Ferris, with roots in an old personal name that likely meant “man of the wild boar” or was related to Ferrers-style Norman forms.
The #1,179 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 10,334 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Farris is most often treated as a spelling variant of Ferris, and in English and Norman contexts Ferris is commonly traced to the medieval personal name Ferris/Feris, itself connected with forms of Ferrers. That ultimately points back to the Old French personal-name tradition, often linked to ferrier, “farrier” or “horse-worker,” though some lines of development are uncertain. In Irish sources, Farris can also appear as an Anglicized form of Gaelic names such as Ó Fearghuis or related forms, which helps explain why the surname is found in both English and Irish family lines.
History
Lower explicitly cross-references Farris to Ferris or Ferrers, showing that English surname scholars treated it as a variant spelling rather than a wholly separate name. Later Irish onomastic works also list Farris among forms associated with Gaelic surnames, so the name can have different histories depending on the family. In the United States, Farris is fairly widespread and may reflect either English or Irish ancestry in different branches.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same surname can sometimes have two different backstories: one English-Norman, one Irish Gaelic.
From the historical record
“is a to\\Tiship so called. FARRIS. See Ferris or Ferrers. FARSYDE. The Farsydes, olim Faw- side, derive then- name from the castle, lands, and villages of Easter and Wester Fawsyde, near Tranent in East Lothian, where they were seated as earlj' as 1253. B.L.G. FARTHING. See Monet, denomina- tions of.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom