Stickney
A habitational surname from a Lincolnshire parish name, probably meaning “island or riverside place with stakes or sticks.”
The #7,702 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 71,651 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Stickney is generally taken from the parish of Stickney in Lincolnshire. The place-name appears to combine a word for a stick, stake, or pile with the old word for an island or waterside place, so the original sense was probably something like “stake island” or “staked riverbank.” The first element is usually explained from Old English or Old Norse, while the second element matches Old English -ey and Old Norse ey, both meaning “island” or “watery land.”
History
The surname is an English locational name, and historical references link it specifically to the Lincolnshire parish. It is documented by the 16th century, with early records such as a William Stickney in London in 1583. The name later appears in North America as well, where it remained relatively uncommon but persistent.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same place-name element -ey turns up in many English and Scandinavian coastal or marshland names, where it often meant a patch of higher ground in wet country.
From the historical record
“land. STICKNEY. A parish in Lincolnshire. STIFF. See Stephen. STIGGINS. Doubtless Stigandus, Sti- gand, the ancient baptismal name. A dig- nified Archbishop, and Mrs. Weller's red- nosed i^astor, then, enjoyed at least a name in common ! STIGGSON. The son of Stigand. See Stiggins.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom