Lloyd
A classic Welsh surname from the old personal name Llwyd, meaning “grey” or “brown.”
The #522 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,809 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lloyd comes from the Welsh personal name Llwyd, a word meaning “grey,” “brown,” or sometimes “hoary” in the sense of grey-haired or venerable. In origin it was often a descriptive byname, later inherited as a surname, especially in Welsh patronymic forms such as ap Llwyd (“son of Llwyd”). The surname was also sometimes Anglicized in older records as Floyd or Flood.
History
Historical sources describe Lloyd as a very old Welsh name, even though it was not generally fixed as an hereditary surname before the 16th century. It became especially common in Wales and in border counties, and many later Lloyd families traced themselves to ancient Welsh lineages. The spelling and pronunciation were often altered in English records, which helped produce variants such as Floyd and Flood.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower notes that some prominent Lloyd families claimed descent from very early Welsh or even Norman ancestors, showing how a simple descriptive name could become attached to elaborate family traditions.
From the historical record
“LOG LLOYD. A well-known Welsh personal name — sometimes corrupted to Floyd and Flood. As an hereditary surname it does not date beyond the XYI. century, yet many of the "families bearing it are of great antiquity, as, for example : — Lloyd of Bronwydd is 23rd lord of the Barony of Kemes, co. Penabroke, in…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Lloyd
- Harold Lloyd (1893–1971)
- Christopher Lloyd (b. 1938)
- Cher Lloyd (b. 1993)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.