Spriggs
A surname that most likely began as a patronymic from the nickname or personal name Sprigg, rather than from the word spring.
The #4,925 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 43,224 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally explained as "Sprigg's," meaning "son of Sprigg" or belonging to Sprigg. The name Sprigg itself was probably a nickname or short personal name, and some older writers also connected it with the English word spring, especially in the sense of a spring or fountain. The evidence is not entirely settled, but the patronymic explanation is the safest reading.
History
Bardsley notes that Sprigg and the genitive form Spriggs were concentrated especially in Norfolk, suggesting a local family grouping in eastern England. The name also appears in early modern English records, and later spread to North America, where it survives today in modest numbers. Similar forms such as Sprigge, Sprigg, and Sprigman helped keep the same name-stem visible in records.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers occasionally linked Spriggs to the picturesque image of a spring or grove, but the genitive "-s" form makes a family-name origin more likely.
From the historical record
“SPRIGINGS J SPRIGGS, Sprigg's (Son) : v. Sprigg. SPRING (Eng.) i Dweller at a Fountain [O.E. spryng; f. springan, to burst forth] 2 Dweller at a Grove or Young Wood [Dial. E.] The nightingale, among the thick-leav'd spring. —”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)