Vaughn Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Vaughn last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Vaughn last name
Meaning of the Vaughn last name: small, or younger. Vaughn comes from the Welsh word fychan, meaning small or younger. It was often used to tell a son apart from his father of the same name. A curious detail: in Welsh the 'f' sounds like a 'v', which explains the spelling, and the name later became popular in America.
Arms associated with the Vaughn name
English heralds once rode round the counties checking who used arms, and the Vaughn name belongs to that long tradition.
Get your full Vaughn family history
This is only a glimpse of the Vaughn story. The full Vaughn 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 Vaughn coat of arms. Get the full Vaughn report.
Vaughn name FAQ
What does the Vaughn name mean?
Small, or younger. Common variants include Vaughan, Vychan, Baughan.
Where does the Vaughn surname come from?
It originates in Wales, and is also found in the United States, England and Australia.
Is there a Vaughn coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Vaughn coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); US Census Bureau 2010.