Young is an English surname derived from the Old English word geong, meaning "young." It was originally used as a descriptive nickname to distinguish a younger person from an older one, often a son from his father.
Origins and Etymology
The surname traces back to Old English geong ("young"), later appearing in Middle English as yunge or yonge. It functioned as a descriptive byname, similar to other comparative surnames such as "Senior" or "Elder." The name is found across England and Scotland, where it was used to differentiate between two individuals sharing the same given name within a family or community.
Other Cultural Origins
In some cases, Young is used as a romanization of the Chinese surname Yang (simplified Chinese: 杨; traditional Chinese: 楊), one of the most common surnames in China. It may also be a rare romanization of the Korean surnames Yong (용; 龍) or Yeong (영; 永/榮/影), though in Korean naming conventions, "Young" is more commonly part of a given name rather than a surname.
Frequency and Distribution
Young is a common surname in the English-speaking world:
- 34th most common surname in the United States
- 49th most common in England and Wales
- 19th most common in Scotland
Notable Bearers
The surname has been borne by many notable individuals across diverse fields, including:
- Brigham Young (1801–1877), American religious leader and second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Cy Young (1867–1955), American Major League Baseball Hall-of-Fame pitcher, namesake of the Cy Young Award
- Edward Young (1683–1765), English poet best known for Night-Thoughts
- Lester Young (1909–1959), influential American jazz saxophonist
- Loretta Young (1913–2000), American actress
- Neil Young (born 1945), Canadian-American singer-songwriter and musician
- Angus Young (born 1955) and Malcolm Young (1953–2017), Scottish-born Australian guitarists and founding members of the rock band AC/DC
- Thomas Young (1773–1829), English polymath and physician known for contributions to optics, physics, and Egyptology
- Whitney Young (1921–1971), American civil rights leader
- Owen D. Young (1874–1962), American industrialist and diplomat, founder of RCA and Time Man of the Year for 1929
- Andrew Young (born 1932), American civil rights activist, politician, and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
- Will Young (born 1979), British singer and winner of the first series of Pop Idol
Variants
Related surnames include Younge, Yung, and Yong, which may share similar etymological roots in different linguistic contexts.
