Stallard
A surname that may come from an old English word for a stable-keeper or from a personal name meaning “steel-hard.”
The #8,422 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 78,661 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name has more than one proposed origin. One traditional explanation connects it with Middle English or Old English elements for a stable or stall plus a word for keeper, giving a sense like “stable-keeper” or “stall-ward.” Another line of explanation, favored by some writers, connects it with an old Scandinavian personal name meaning “steel-hard.”
History
19th-century surname writers disagreed about whether Stallard is occupational, patronymic, or a spelling variant of related names such as Stannard or Stonard. Some also treated Stallard as a form of Staller, an old status title connected with a horse-master, constable, or standard-bearer. The surname is established in England and later appears in the United States, where it remains relatively uncommon.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Harrison’s 1912 dictionary explicitly offered two different explanations for Stallard: one from a stable-keeper term and another from an Old Norse personal name.
From the historical record
“STALLARD (Eng.) for Stallward=STABLE- Keeper [O.E. st{e)aU, a stall, stable +. w(e)ard, keeper] (Scand.) for the O.Scand. pers. name Stdlha^r= Steel-Hard. STALLBRIDGE] (Eng.) Bel. to Stalbridge STALBRI DG E J (Dorset), early - 14th - cent.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)