Loomis
A surname most likely tied to a place-name, with early writers connecting it to a Welsh phrase meaning “the open field.”
The #2,485 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 21,266 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname was explained by an early surname dictionary as local or locational, apparently from a Welsh place-name built from elements meaning “bare” or “open” and “field.” In that older account, the sense is essentially “the place in the open field.” The spelling may also reflect later English adaptation of an older place name rather than a straightforward modern Welsh formation.
History
The name is found in English-language records as Loomis and the related spelling Lomis. It is established in North America, especially through early New England families, and later became a familiar American surname. The etymology is not completely secure, and older reference works sometimes give speculative explanations for surname origins.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Loomis is one of the surnames that looks ordinary in English but was once explained through a Welsh place-name analysis by 19th-century writers.
From the historical record
“which it is situated, and dale — the dale on the Lon. LOOMIS or LOMMIS. (Welsh.) Local. From lorn, bare, naked, exposed, and maes, a field, a name of place — the place in the open field. LOPPE. Local An uneven or winding place, a bend. LOED. A term of civil dignity, a master, ruler, the proprietor of a manor…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names