Record
An English surname that was often a corruption of Rickword or related names, though it could also arise from the common word "record."
The #9,262 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 87,837 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Record is treated in older surname books mainly as a corruption of Rickword or a related name, especially in Sussex usage. That makes it likely to be a phonetic and spelling reshaping rather than a name originally built from the modern English word. At the same time, some writers also noted that the ordinary word "record" could produce surnames, so the origin is not completely settled.
History
Lower specifically says Record was used by a Sussex family in the 18th century as an altered form of Rickword. Harrison cross-references Record under Rickard, suggesting another line of spelling confusion or phonetic drift in historical records. The name is uncommon in modern U.S. use, but it survives as a distinct surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname scholars even listed Record among names that could have come from legal or administrative vocabulary, showing how slippery surname origins can be.
From the historical record
“RECKITT for Rickett, q.v. RECORD I for Rickard, q.V- 2 for Rickwapd, q.v. REDBOURN(E (Eng.) Bel. to Redbourn, Red- bourne ; or Dweller at i the Reedy Brook [O.E. Mod, a reed -|- bume, a brook] 2 the Red Brook [O.E. riad, red] REDDALL (Eng.) t Dweller at the Red Hall [O.E. r^ad, red + h(e)all, a hall]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)