Stitt
A surname most likely from an old word for being stiff, firm, or hard.
The #5,813 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 51,925 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained from Old English roots meaning “stiff” or “hard,” especially the element seen in Old English stif. In older scholarship it is sometimes treated as a weakened or shortened form of a descriptive nickname for someone firm, rigid, or sturdy. The exact path is not completely certain, but the sense is clearly adjectival rather than occupational or locational.
History
Nineteenth-century surname writers grouped Stitt with a cluster of names thought to come from old Anglo-Saxon words for firmness or hardness. The name is established in Britain and also appears in Scottish and Irish records, with later spread to North America. Because the historical evidence is sparse, some older explanations are suggestive rather than definitive.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
An older authority grouped Stitt with surnames like Stith and Steed as examples of very old descriptive names built from “strong” or “hard” ideas.
From the historical record
“acre a.d. 1332. STITT (Eng.) app. a weakened form of O.E. s<i> = Strong, Hard. STIVE (Eng.) Stiff, Strong, Hard [O.E. stif] STIVENS, a weak form of Stevens, Stephens, q.v. St. JOHN, an Anglicized form of the common”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)