Short Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Short last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Short last name
Meaning of the Short last name: short, small of stature. Short is an English surname that began as a nickname for a person of small stature (or, with medieval humour, a very tall one). The last name is common in the southwest and north of England, and in Ulster it was sometimes used to translate Gaelic names. A curious detail of this surname origin: English and Ulster emigrants carried it from the United States to Australia.
Arms associated with the Short name
In English heraldry a coat of arms belonged to one person at a time, so different Short lines used their own versions, each set out in a blazon, the formal heraldic description.
Get your full Short family history
This is only a glimpse of the Short story. The full Short history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Short coat of arms. Get the full Short report.
Short name FAQ
What does the Short name mean?
Short, small of stature. Common variants include Shortt, Shorte, Schort.
Where does the Short surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Australia and Ireland.
Is there a Short coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Short coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland.