Northrop

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name carried by several notable people ; a major American firm that designs and builds aircraft and military systems
2. A surname shared by various well-known individuals ; a large American aerospace and defense contractor known for building aircraft
3. An English-language family name held by several public figures ; an American corporation specializing in aviation and defense technology

Etymology: Northrop is a surname that comes from Old English roots meaning "north" and "thorp," or farmstead, so it originally named a homestead or hamlet lying to the north of some other settlement. Many English place names were built this way, and people often took their surname from the place they lived, so a family living at a northern thorp would become known as "Northrop" or a variant spelling such as "Northrup." The name spread widely as a family name, especially in England and in the English-speaking world, where early settlers carried it to North America. Because surnames of this kind were fixed by where a person lived, the same name could arise independently in different villages, so there is no single founding family behind it. Its meaning stays tied to the simple geography of the original settlement.