Young Family History

English Scottish and Northern Irish: nickname from Middle English yong ‘young’ (Old English geong) used to distinguish a younger man from an older man bearing the same personal name (typically father and son). In Middle English this name is often found with the Anglo-Norman French definite article for example Robert le Yunge. In Gaelic-speaking areas of Scotland this was widely used as an English equivalent of the Gaelic nickname Og ‘young’; see Ogg.

This surname is also very common among African Americans. Americanized form (translation into English) of various European surnames meaning ‘young’ or similar notably German Jung, Dutch Jong and De Jong, and French Lejeune and Lajeunesse.

Americanized form of Swedish Ljung: topographic or an ornamental name from ljung ‘(field of) heather’ or a habitational name from a placename containing this word e.g. Ljungby.

Americanized form of French Guyon, reflecting the specific former French Canadian pronunciation of the initial G- followed by a vowel or of one of its altered forms such as Yon.

Native American: translation into English and shortening of a personal name composed of a word meaning ‘young’ or ‘little’ such as Lakota Sioux Mato Čikala ‘Little Bear’ or ‘Young Bear’ (see Youngbear). Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 楊 and 陽 see Yang 1 and 7: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 容 see Rong 8: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 翁 see Weng.