Lemmon
A surname that most likely began as a form of Leman or Lemon, originally meaning “beloved” or “sweetheart.”
The #5,633 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 50,040 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally treated as a variant of Leman or Lemon, from Old English and Middle English words meaning a beloved person, sweetheart, or paramour. Early writers connected it with Chaucerian usage and with the phrase “the son of the leman,” showing that it could function as both a descriptive nickname and a hereditary surname. In some records it may also reflect spelling variation rather than a separate origin.
History
The name appears in medieval English records and later survives in a range of spellings, including Leman and Lemon. Nineteenth-century surname dictionaries often group Lemmon with these forms rather than treating it as independent. It is also found in Irish surname lists as a variant spelling, though that does not by itself prove a distinct Irish origin in every case.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early surname writers noted that the underlying word could mean not just “beloved,” but specifically a lover or sweetheart in medieval English usage.
From the historical record
“— familiar to e^'ery reader of Chaucer. LEMMON. See Lemon. LEMON. O. Eng. lemma?!., paramour, sweetheart — an A- Sax. and C!haucerian word. One " Alan, the sonof theLeman," occurs iu the Hundred Rolls. Its primary meaning seems to be, a person much be- loved, or very dear. "And he seyde lie -n-ould ben hir Limman…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Lemmon
- Jack Lemmon (1925–2001)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.