Young


Select Young Surname Genealogy

Young from Middle English yunge generally described the younger of two bearers of the same name, either a younger brother or a son. 

Select Young Resources on The Internet

Scotland and Ireland.  The Scottish names are Young and Younger.  These names first surfaced as surnames in the 14th century and are mainly to be found in the Lowlands and around Perthshire.  It was Sir John Young who accompanied Mary Queen of Scots as her chamberlain on her return from France to Scotland in 1561 and received from her the grant of Leny manor in the Trossachs.  Young today is the 19th most common surname in Scotland. 

A Scots Young from Dundee brought the name to Ireland and Youngs are to be found there in Antrim, Tyrone, Down, and Derry.

England.  Its earliest reference as a surname was a Hugo le Yunge in Oxfordshire in 1273.  Young has been found as a surname mainly in the northeast and southeast of England. 

America.  There are more Youngs in America than in the UK, with names such as the Dutch Jong and the German Jung and Junk being Americanized to Young.

Select Young Names

James Young was a 19th century Scottish chemist who developed a method of extracting paraffin from coal, thereby earning himself the nickname of "Paraffin" Young.
Brigham Young led the Mormons to Salt Lake City.
Cy Young was an early baseball pitcher after whom the Cy Young award in baseball is named.
Loretta Young was a well-known American actress.
Andrew Young was one of the leading civil right activists in the 1960's.
Neil Young is a distinctive guitarist and singer-songwriter from Canada.

Select Youngs Today

  • 132,000 in the UK (most numerous in Essex)
  • 147,000 in America (most numerous in Texas)
  • 107,000 elsewhere (most numerous in Australia)

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For other surnames check the companion selectsurname.com site where there are to be found the history and genealogy for more than 500 surnames.

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