Layne
Usually a shortened or variant spelling of Lane, itself often from a lane or roadway name.
The #2,697 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 23,098 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Layne is generally treated as a spelling variant of Lane. In English surname use, Lane usually comes from Old English "lanu," meaning a narrow road or passage, and was first used for someone who lived by such a lane. The spelling Layne is a later orthographic variant rather than a separate root in most cases.
History
The surname appears in English records in several spellings, with Layne and Lane often used interchangeably. It was carried to North America with English and Irish migrants and later became a stable family spelling in its own right. Some bearers may also have Irish origins through surnames that were anglicized into Lane/Layne forms, so the name can be mixed in origin depending on the family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century surname books often list Layne alongside Chamberlain and other variant spellings simply as an alternate form, showing how fluid English surname spelling could be.
From the historical record
“CHAMBERLAIN, CHAMBER- LAYNE. A well-known oflicer oi state, in royal and noble houses and courts. There are several distinct families bearing the surname. Aiulfus Camcrarius (the latin- ized form) was a tenant in chief in co, Dorset, aud probably the Conqueror's own chamberlain. One of his possessions in that…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom