Little (surname)
Look up little in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
 "lȳtle", an Old Anglo-Saxon term for little things | |
| Gender | Unisex |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | English |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Old English (OE), Middle English (ME) |
| Word/name | lȳtel (OE), littel (ME) |
| Meaning | "little" |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Littell, Lytle, Lyttle |
Little is a surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Middle English littel[1] and the Old English lȳtel, which means "little".[2] In some cases, the name was originally a nickname for a little man. In other cases, the name was used to distinguish the younger of two bearers of the same personal name.[1] Early records of the name include: Litle, in 972; Litle, in about 1095; and le Lytle, in 1296.[2] The surname has absorbed several non English-language surnames. For example, Little is sometimes a translation of the Irish Ó Beagáin, meaning "descendant of Beagán". Little can also be a translation of the French Petit and Lepetit, as well as other surnames in various languages with the same meaning ("little"),[1] especially the German name Klein during World War II.
People
[edit]Names held by several people
[edit]- Andrew Little (disambiguation), several people
- Angela Little (disambiguation), several people
- Anna Little (disambiguation), several people
- Brian Little (disambiguation), several people
- Bryan Little (disambiguation), several people
- David Little (disambiguation), several people
- Frank Little (disambiguation), several people
- George Little (disambiguation), several people
- Henry Little (disambiguation), several people
- Jack Little (disambiguation), several people
- James Little (disambiguation), several people
- Jason Little (disambiguation), several people
- John Little (disambiguation), several people
- Mark Little (disambiguation), several people
- Richard Little (disambiguation), several people
- Robert Little (disambiguation), several people
- Steve Little (disambiguation), several people
- Thomas Little (disambiguation), several people
- Walter Little (disambiguation), several people
- William Little (disambiguation), several people
Academics
[edit]- Elaine Marjory Little (1884–1974), Australian pathologist
- Elbert Luther Little, (1907–2004), American botanist
- Ian Little (economist), (1918–2012), British economist
- Stephen Little (born 1954), American Asian art scholar, museum administrator and artist
Businesspeople
[edit]- Arthur Dehon Little (1863–1935), American chemical engineer, founder of consulting company Arthur D. Little
- Jacob Little (1794–1865), American investor
- William Brian Little (1942–2000), American investor
Performers
[edit]- Ann Little (1891–1984), American silent film actress
- Booker Little (1938–1961), American jazz trumpeter
- Carlo Little (1938–2005), British rock and roll drummer
- Cleavon Little (1939–1992), American film and theatre actor
- Jane Little (musician), American musician; bassist in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
- Ralf Little (born 1980), English actor and comedian
- Rich Little (born 1938), Canadian-American impressionist and voice actor
- Syd Little (born 1942), English comedian
- Tasmin Little (born 1965), English violinist
Politicians
[edit]- Betty Little (born 1940), New York senator
- Brad Little (Born 1954), American politician
- John Mays Little (died 1950), American politician
- Joseph James Little (1841–1913), US representative from New York, printer and publisher
- Patrick Little (1884–1963), Irish politician
- Russell M. Little (1809–1891), New York politician
- Zeb Little, a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate
Sportspeople
[edit]- Alan Little (1955–2024), English footballer
- Brendon Little (born 1996), American baseball player
- Cam Little (born 2003), American football player
- Chad Little (born 1963), NASCAR driver
- Emily Little (born 1994), Australian gymnast
- Floyd Little (1942–2021), American football player
- Grady Little (born 1950), former Major League Baseball manager
- Ian Little (footballer) (born 1973), Scottish football player and manager
- Kim Little (born 1990), Scottish association footballer
- Lawson Little (1910–1968), American professional golfer
- Nassir Little (born 2000), American basketball player
- Neil Little (born 1971), Canadian former ice hockey player
- Nicky Little (born 1976), Fijian rugby union player
- Ricky Little (born 1989), Scottish footballer
- Sally Little (born 1951), South African LPGA golfer
- Sam Little (golfer) (born 1975), English professional golfer
- Tori Groves-Little (born 2000), Australian rules footballer
- Walker Little (born 1999), American football player
Writers
[edit]- Bentley Little (born 1960), American author
- Frances Little (1863–1941), pseudonym of American author Fannie Caldwell
- Jane Little (born 1972), English broadcaster and writer
- Jean Little (1932–2020), Canadian author
Others
[edit]- Alice Little, (born 1990), Irish–American sex-worker and advocate
- Donald Little, Canadian judge
- Joan Little (born 1953), African-American acquitted of murder
- Ken Little (born 1947), modernist American sculptor
- Lewis Henry Little (1817–1862), Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War
- Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, 1925–1965), Afro-American civil rights leader and Nation of Islam minister
- Samuel Little (1940–2020), American serial killer
- Tony Little (born 1956), American TV fitness personality
Fictional characters
[edit]- Bingo Little, in P. G. Wodehouse stories
- Chicken Little, also known as Henny Penny or Chicken Licken
- Stuart Little, fictional mouse in many of E. B. White's short stories, and in some films
See also
[edit]- Chicken Little (disambiguation)
- Clan Little, a Scottish Border clan
- Henny Penny (disambiguation)
- List of people known as the Little
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Learn about the family history of your surname, Ancestry.com, retrieved 22 February 2011, which cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4, for the surname "Little".
- ^ a b Reaney, Percy Hilde (1995), Wilson, Richard Middlewood (ed.), A Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 281, ISBN 0-19-863146-4.
Surnames derived from the words "little", "small" | ||
|---|---|---|
| English | | |
| Other Germanic | ||
| Romance | ||
| Slavic | ||
| other | ||
This page lists people with the surname Little.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.