Span Family History
Span Name Meaning
German: metonymic occupational name for a carpenter a variant of Spahn . German: nickname for a quarrelsome person a variant of Spann . Slovenian (Špan): from špan a feudal status name for a serf chosen by an overlord to oversee other serfs and villeins working on the overlord's estate. This was also a status name for a village headman. The word in both senses is ultimately derived from Slovenian/Slavic župan (see Zupan ). Slovenian (Špan): nickname from archaic špan ‘fellow companion’ also ‘sweetheart’ a word of German (Bavarian) origin. Czech (Špán): nickname for a thin man from špán ‘wood chip’ a dialect word of German origin (see ). Slovak and Rusyn (from Slovakia) (Špan): historical status name from a Slavicized form of Hungarian ispán (itself a derivative of Slavic župan; see Zupan compare 3 above) in old Hungary a title denoting the highest royal official standing at the head of the manor.7: Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname or artificial name from German Span ‘wood chip’.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022