Surname Spotlight: Stead

Stead began as an English family name. In Elsdon Smith's reading, the name described “dweller at a dairy farm”.

• Landscape names of this kind told neighbours where a family's house stood.
• In the 2010 US Census, 2,808 Americans gave Stead as their last name (rank 11,257). That is enough to place it in the top 25,000 American surnames.

Family crest and blazon

There is no single Stead family crest for all bearers; the honest first step is to find out which Stead line, if any, bore arms. Want more than a summary? See the Stead family name pack.