Nightingale Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Nightingale last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the Nightingale coat of arms for you.
Meaning and origin of the Nightingale last name
Meaning of the Nightingale last name: nightingale. Nightingale began as a nickname for a sweet singer, from Old English nihtegale, the bird famed for singing after dark. Families of this surname cluster in Hampshire, Surrey and Cambridgeshire. Florence Nightingale, the Lady with the Lamp of the Crimean War and founder of modern nursing, carried this last name, as did the BBC radio presenter Annie Nightingale.
Arms associated with the Nightingale name
Coats of arms associated with the Nightingale surname follow English heraldry, each set out in a short blazon.
Get your full Nightingale family history
This is only a glimpse of the Nightingale story. The full Nightingale history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Nightingale coat of arms. Get the full Nightingale report.
Nightingale name FAQ
What does the Nightingale name mean?
Nightingale. Common variants include Nightingall.
Where does the Nightingale surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Is there a Nightingale coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Nightingale coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).