&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Beowulf_-_lytle.jpg) "lȳtle", an Old Anglo-Saxon term for little things | |
| Gender | Unisex |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | English |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Old English (OE), Middle English (ME) |
| Word/name | lȳtel (OE), littel (ME) |
| Meaning | "little" |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Littell, Lytle, Lyttle |
Little is a surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Middle English littel[1] and the Old English lȳtel, which means "little".[2] In some cases, the name was originally a nickname for a little man. In other cases, the name was used to distinguish the younger of two bearers of the same personal name.[1] Early records of the name include: Litle, in 972; Litle, in about 1095; and le Lytle, in 1296.[2] The surname has absorbed several non English-language surnames. For example, Little is sometimes a translation of the Irish Ó Beagáin, meaning "descendant of Beagán". Little can also be a translation of the French Petit and Lepetit, as well as other surnames in various languages with the same meaning ("little"),[1] especially the German name Klein during World War II.
- ^ a b c Learn about the family history of your surname, Ancestry.com, retrieved 22 February 2011, which cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4, for the surname "Little".
- ^ a b Reaney, Percy Hilde (1995), Wilson, Richard Middlewood (ed.), A Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 281, ISBN 0-19-863146-4.