Havens
A surname most likely from residence near a haven or harbor, originally a place-name or topographic nickname.
The #3,066 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 26,391 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Havens comes from Middle English haven, meaning a harbor, port, or sheltered anchorage, ultimately from Old English hæfen. As a surname, it would most naturally have identified someone who lived by a haven or worked at one. The final -s may be a plural or local-form ending, or a later surname spelling development rather than a separate root.
History
19th-century surname writers regularly grouped Havens with names taken from ports, harbors, and sheltered landforms. The name is best understood as English in origin, though it also fits the broader pattern of surnames formed from local features and coastal settlements. In the United States, Havens became established as a hereditary family name and is now found well beyond any original maritime setting.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books often paired Havens with Harbor, Harbour, and other place-based names because all of them point back to a coastal or sheltered location.
From the historical record
“*A shipman was ther woned fer by West, . . He knew wri alle the havens as they were. Fro' Gotland to the Cape de Finisterrc' Chaucer's C. T., Prologue. Hugh le Schipman, C R., 36 Hen. III.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)