Totten
A surname most likely built from a medieval personal name, later fixed in English and Irish records in several spelling forms.
The #5,125 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 45,218 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Totten is generally treated as a surname formed from a personal name rather than from a place or occupation. The historical evidence points to medieval name forms such as Tot, Tod, or related Germanic pet forms, with the ending -en/-en often used in forming family names or diminutives in older English usage. Because the surviving 19th-century sources are brief and partly incidental, the exact first name behind it is not certain.
History
The name is recorded in British and Irish contexts, including scattered historical occurrences in Ireland. In English-language records, Totten appears alongside related forms such as Totton and other similar surnames, suggesting a family name that developed through regional spelling variation. The surname later appears in North America, where it is now established but not especially common.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname has several near-neighbors in old records, and 19th-century compilers often grouped Totten with a cluster of similar names because scribes spelled them in more than one way.
From the historical record
“17 " Totten," 6 in Antrim ; " Totton," 5 in Armagh. Totten (9)-Totton (8), 17”
— Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (numerical strength, derivation, distribution)