Wheat
A surname usually understood as a nickname for someone fair or pale, or as a short form of a place-based name tied to wheat fields.
The #3,290 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 28,121 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Wheat is usually linked to Old English *hwīt*, meaning “white” or “fair,” so it may have begun as a nickname for someone with light coloring. Some historical surname dictionaries also connect Wheat with place-names and field names containing Old English *hwǣte* “wheat,” especially in compounds like Wheatcroft or Wheatley. Because the name is short and could arise in more than one way, it is best treated as having more than one possible origin.
History
Medieval records show related forms and compounds such as Wheatcroft, Wheatland, and Wheatley, which helped keep the wheat-based place-name interpretation alive. As a simple English surname, Wheat has survived into the modern period in relatively modest numbers. The name is most common in England-origin families and in countries shaped by English migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same old English root that gave this surname its fair-color meaning also appears in many English place-names, which is why Wheat can feel both like a nickname and a landscape name.
From the historical record
“WHEAT WHEATE I (Eng.) White, Fair [O.E. hwit] WHEATCROFT (Eng.) Dweller at a Wheat- Croft [O.E. hwdete + croft, a small fieldj WH EATLAN D (Eng.) Dweller at i the Wheat- Land [O.E. hwdste -f land]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)