Sharp

Etymology

Sharp comes from the Old English adjective scearp, meaning sharp, keen, cutting, or acute. In Middle English it appears as scharp or sharpe, and the surname was likely first used as a nickname for a person with a quick mind, brisk manner, or possibly a pointed facial feature. The name is straightforwardly descriptive rather than occupational or locational.

History

The surname is well established in England by the later Middle Ages and remained common enough to become widespread in modern English-speaking countries. Historical surname writers often gloss it simply as "quick" or "smart," showing that the mental sense was as important as the literal physical one. It also appears in a few compound or related forms, though the simple surname Sharp is by far the best known.

Origin

Regions

Variant spellings

Fun fact

Modern surname books often note that Sharp can mean not only "keen" in the physical sense but also "smart" in the sense of quick-minded or clever.

Related surnames