| Large | |
| Meaning: | "abundant" "ample" "big" "generous" "liberal" |
| Region: | England, see France for parallel surnames |
| Origin: | Latin, Old French, Middle English |
| Variant: | Lardge, Lurge, Larg, le Large, de Large |
Large is an English surname, with variants including Lardge and Lurge. Its meaning is variable, though it may derive from the Norman French adjective, large (meaning "generous" or "big" [as in, "that's big of you", meaning generous, as well as large in size]), as it is found in the surname "le Large" in English records dating back as far as the 13th century. Harrison's work on English surnames gives the following: "Large (adjectival: French, Latin) Big; Generous [Middle English Old French ''large''; Latin ''larg-us, -a'', [meaning] abundant, liberal]"
He gives an early citation for the name: Austin Belz from the Hundred Rolls, a reference dating to 1273.
He also provides a quotation showing the word in its older sense of generous, full, liberal or ample in its literary context:
So large of English, Middle (1100-1500);: yift [gift] and free was she (from Chaucer's Romance of the Rose I168)
Another variant surname, "de Large", appears to be continental European rather than English in origin.
Henry Brougham Guppy's survey circa 1881, based on local British directories, places Large as a surname local to North Wiltshire, and considers it to have particular prevalence among yeoman farmers.(Guppy, 1890)
According to the International Genealogical Index, the surname is also found in many other English counties; in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and other English language countries; in France and Germany, and, more rarely, in the Scandinavian countries. Large is also found in Latin America countries such as Colombia where all families surnamed Large are related.
People with the name Large, or one of its variants, include: