Titus
An ancient Latin given name, later adopted as a surname, sometimes linked by old writers to the idea of a giant or to honorability.
The #2,314 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 19,566 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Titus began as a Roman personal name, and the surname usually comes from that given name rather than from a place or occupation. Some 19th-century writers connected it with Latin Titan and the Greek idea of a giant, while others treated it more simply as a classical personal name. One older source glosses it as “honorable,” but that is best treated cautiously rather than as a settled etymology.
History
As a surname, Titus is mainly an English-family-name formation from the forename Titus, which was familiar in medieval and early modern Christian usage. The name also appears in modern English-speaking countries through immigration and the continued use of the biblical/classical given name. In the United States it has remained uncommon but steadily present.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The New Testament Epistle to Titus helped keep the name in circulation in Christian Europe for centuries.
From the historical record
“Titherington] TITUS (Lat.) is prob. conn, with Lat. Titan, Gr. TiTiv, 'a giant'. TIVERTON (Eng.) Bel. to i Tiverton (Devon), anc. Twyfordton = the Double-Ford Town [O.E. twi-, two-, double -^ ford + tiin, enclosure, farm, town]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)