Vernon
A Norman locational surname meaning “from Vernon,” a place-name in northern France.
The #2,070 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,663 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Vernon is chiefly a habitational surname, taken from Vernon in Normandy, France. Historical writers explain the place-name as ancient and probably Celtic in origin, with later Latinized forms influencing the spelling; the ending has also been interpreted as a French diminutive or Latin suffix in some accounts. In short, the surname means someone who came from Vernon or was lord of that place.
History
The name is strongly associated with Norman families who held Vernon-sur-Seine and came into England after the Conquest. Medieval records show de Vernon as an established baronial name in England, and the family spread into later English aristocratic and gentry lines. The surname then passed into wider use as a hereditary family name, with the locational prefix eventually dropping in most English usage.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower notes that William de Vernon was lord of Vernon-sur-Seine in 1052, and his son Richard is said to have come to England with William the Conqueror in 1066.
From the historical record
“Vernay, Calvados, Normandy. VERNON (A.-Fr.-Celt.) Bel. to Vernon (France) [the stem is that of Verney (q.v.) : the suff. is either the dim. -on (Lat. -i-on-em), or else it represents, as in some other cases, Lat. -i-an-utn] de Vernon occurs on the mural list of "Compagnons de Guillaume k la Con-”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)