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Place

Pitts surname meaning

An English surname associated with pits, hollows, or pit-side residence, with patronymic and occupational routes also possible.

Confidence
Disputed
US frequency
Rank 713 · 47,055 people
Common variants
Pitts, Pitt, Pittes, Pits

Confidence: Disputed. More than one origin is plausible, or sources disagree. We show the conflict rather than pick a cute answer.

The short story

Pitts is often connected with English pit or pitts, a hollow, excavation, or low place, and could identify someone who lived beside such a feature or came from a place named for it. Pitt and Pittes also preserve personal-name and spelling routes, while pit work can create an occupational overlap. The final s may be a genitive, patronymic, or later spelling rather than a plural with one fixed meaning. The catalog uses place as a cautious lead with disputed confidence because the topographic route is plausible but the historical forms do not separate every origin.

Also seen as: Pitts, Pitt, Pittes, Pits

Sources used
  • Ancestry surname meaning for Pitts (Pitt and English topographic routes)
  • Geneanet 'PITTS' (English surname and spelling comparisons)
  • Names2020_LastNames_RaceHispanic_Top1000.xlsx (2020 Census)