Place
Meadows surname meaning
An English topographic surname for someone who lived by a meadow, from Middle English medewe.
The short story
Meadows is an English landscape surname. It comes from Middle English medewe (Old English mǣdwe), a meadow, and originally labeled someone who lived by grassland. The final -s is a common later addition rather than a separate meaning. Meadow, Medows, and Meddowes show the same root under thinner or older spellings. Unlike a habitational name tied to one village, Meadows could arise wherever a farm sat beside meadowland. Place is the natural type, and the meadow gloss is securely attested.
Also seen as: Meadows, Meadow, Medows, Meddowes
Sources used
- Geneanet / DAFN-related Meadow entry (topographic from medewe)
- English surname references for Meadows (meadow topographic; Medows variants)
- Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)