Todd surname meaning

Todd is an English and Scottish nickname surname from Middle English tod, a dialect word for “fox.” It likely described someone thought sly, quick, or fox-like, or simply used the animal term as a byname. Once surnames became hereditary, the original comparison no longer described a particular bearer. Tod, Todde, and related spellings occur in records, but spelling alone cannot identify one family line. The fox association is a traditional surname explanation rather than evidence that every Todd ancestor hunted or kept foxes. Nickname is the high-confidence catalog type because the Middle English word and its use as a byname are well documented.