Light

Family name origins & meanings

• English : nickname for a happy, cheerful person, from Middle English lyght, Old English lēoht ‘light’ (not dark), ‘bright’, ‘cheerful’.
• English : nickname for someone who was busy and active, from Middle English lyght, Old English līoht ‘light’ (not heavy), ‘nimble’, ‘quick’. The two words lēoht and līoht were originally distinct, but they were confused in English from an early period.
• English : nickname for a small person, from Middle English lite, Old English l̄t ‘little’, influenced by lyght as in 1 and 2.