Stacy
A surname that likely began as a medieval form of Stace, itself a short form of Eustace or a Latinized Statius-like name.
The #1,891 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 16,241 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical records in these sources point to Stacy as a variant of Stace, which was used as a short form of the personal name Eustace. Some 19th-century writers also connected it with Latin names such as Statins/Statins-like forms, linking it to the Latin root status, meaning standing, firmness, or stability. In practice, the surname is best understood as a medieval English surname formed from a familiar given name, with spelling variation over time.
History
Medieval spellings include Stace, Stasy, and Stacye, showing that the name was not fixed early on. The surname appears in English records from the 13th and 14th centuries, including examples from Hampshire, Somerset, and Yorkshire. Later surname dictionaries treated Stacy and Stacey as related or interchangeable forms.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older dictionaries tried to explain Stacy through Latin words for firmness or standing, but the more common surname history traces it to the given name Stace, and ultimately to Eustace.
From the historical record
“STAGEY STACY STAGYEJ I the M.Lat. Stacius for the well- known Lat. Statins [f. Lat. status, stability, prosperity, etc.] Stacius le Boloneis. — Cal. Rot. Pat.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)