Patten
Usually a medieval form of Patrick’s son, though in some cases it may also be locational from a place-name in Essex.
The #3,059 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 26,321 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most surname writers connect Patten with the personal name Patrick, shortened to Pat or Pate, with a diminutive ending that produced forms like Patten, Paton, and Pattinson. That makes the name essentially mean “little Pat” or “son of Patrick” in medieval usage. Some early references also connect it with a place called Patine or Patten near Chelmsford in Essex, so a locational origin may explain at least part of the surname’s history.
History
The name is especially common in Scotland and the north of England, where surnames built on Patrick were widespread. Nineteenth-century writers also noted a line of Pattens of Bank Hall in Lancashire who were said to descend from a Richard Patten of Essex recorded in the early 12th century. Because the surname appears in both patronymic and place-linked traditions, its origins may not be identical in every family.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books treated Patten and Paton as closely related forms, and both were often grouped with other Patrick-based names in Border country.
From the historical record
“PATTEIVldRE, V. Patmore, Padmore. PATTEN "1 I the French Patin, i. the O.Teut. PATTIN ) name-stem Pat-, with the Fr. dim. suff. -in. ' 2 Patten, Pattin, like Paton, are so common in Scotland and the North of England that there must be anpther source besides the French name — prob. the . dim. of Patrick, (q.v.)…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)