Little (surname)

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Little

"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

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### Names held by several people

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* 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

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* Elaine Marjory Little (1884–1974), Australian pathologist
* Elbert Luther Little, (1907–2004), American botanist
* Ian Little (economist), (1918–2012), British economist
* Kenneth Little (1908–1991), English academic

### Businesspeople

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* 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

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* 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

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* 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
* Mitch Little, American politician
* Patrick Little (1884–1963), Irish politician
* Russell M. Little (1809–1891), New York politician
* Zeb Little, a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate

### Sportspeople

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* 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

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* 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

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* 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

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* 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

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* Chicken Little (disambiguation)
* Clan Little, a Scottish Border clan
* Henny Penny (disambiguation)
* List of people known as the Little

## References

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1. ^ 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".
2. ^ 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.

* v
* t
* e

Surnames derived from the words "little", "small"

English|

* Little
* Lytle
* Lyttle
* Small
* Smalls
* Hiberno-Norman: Pettitt, Pettit, Pettitte

Other Germanic|

* Klein
* Klain
* Klajn
* Kleijn
* Kleine
* Klejn
* Kleyn
* Klijn

Romance|

* Petit, Du Petit

Slavic|

* Malchenko
* Malchuk
* Malczuk
* Malczyk
* Malec
* Málek
* Malets
* Malkov
* Maltsev
* Maly
* Malyi
* Malysh
* Malyshev
* Malyshenko
* Malyshko
* Małysz

Other|

* Hungarian: Kis, Kiss

Surname list

This page lists people with the surname Little.
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