Meaning & Origin
A topographic or habitational surname from Middle English for someone who lived near a hawthorn hedge or in a place with such a name.
Hawthorne is a boy's and girl's baby name of Middle English origin, from a topographic surname meaning 'one who lives near a hawthorn hedge' — the hawthorn being a thorny flowering tree associated in Celtic folklore with boundaries between worlds and with May Day celebrations.
Hawthorne carries the literary legacy of American author Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Scarlet Letter) alongside its nature-literary surname character. For parents drawn to botanical surnames with a dark, romantic, literary edge, Hawthorne has both natural beauty and literary gravitas in full measure.