Headrick
A surname most likely derived from an old Germanic personal name, later found in English and Scottish forms.
The #6,256 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 56,557 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This name is generally treated as a survival of an old Germanic personal name rather than a place-name or occupation. Historical writers connect it with medieval forms such as Hadaricus, with later English spellings including Hatrick and Headrick, and related continental forms like Hedrich. The first element is often explained from a Germanic root meaning ‘power’ or ‘war,’ though the exact pathway into the modern surname is not fully certain.
History
The name appears in older English and Scottish records in several spellings, which suggests a long process of phonetic change and regional variation. Nineteenth-century onomastic writers also noted a Scottish bearer, the Rev. James Headrick, which helped keep the surname visible in Scottish local history. In modern usage it remains relatively uncommon, with strongest presence in the United States and Scotland.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century surname writer grouped Headrick with several other rare forms and traced it back to a medieval Germanic personal name rather than to the English word “head.”
From the historical record
“Remainders " is one of the ablest law-books ever Avritten. Bryar's Sermons were published in Lon- don, 1711-12. Headrick was an English author. Capt. Kempthorne and Lt.-Col. Hedges subscribed for Anburey's " Travels." One Dunthorne was an ancient town-clerk of London. In 1805, I find a Mr. GooDRicK in the British…”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)