Light (surname)

Light is a surname.

Light

Origin
Language(s)	Old English, Middle English
Other names
Related names	Leicht, Leight, Licht, Luce, Luz, Lyght, Lyte

Etymology

Coming from Middle English, there are several possible meanings. In Middle English, lyght means a happy, cheerful person. The Old English leoht could be a person who is ‘bright’ or ‘cheerful’.

The two forms of light - leoht and lioht had distinct meanings, but became mixed over time. The Middle English word lite, coming from Old English l¯t ‘little’, also became lyght.^[1]

People

• Alan Light (born c. 1966), Americanjournalist and music reviewer
• Alan Light (comics) (born 1953), founder of the Comics Buyer's Guide
• Alex Light (born 1994), American football player
• Bill Light (born 1949), American farmer and politician
• Billy Light (1913–1993), English footballer
• Danny Light (1948–2014), English footballer
• Douglas Light (fl. 1990s–present), American author
• Edward Light (1747–1832), English musician, inventor of the harp-lute
• Elisha Light (1873–1952), English cricketer
• Enoch Light (1907–1978), American classical violinist and bandleader
• Francis Light (1740–1794), founder of the British colony of Penang
• George Thomas Light (1820–1896), organist and architect in South Australia
• Henry Light (1782/3–1870), third governor of British Guiana
• H. Wayne Light (1945–2015), American academic and author
• James Light (cricketer) (born c. 1803), English cricketer
• James Light (director) (1895–1964), American director and actor
• James F. Light (1921–2002), American literature scholar and university VP and provost
• Jay Light (musician) (fl. 1970s–present), American musician
• Jay Owen Light (1941–2022), American academic and university dean
• Jennifer S. Light (fl. 2000s), American academic and author
• John Light (actor) (born 1973), English cinema, television and theatre actor
• John H. Light, American lawyer, Connecticut politician and Attorney General
• Judith Light (born 1949), American television actress
• Kevin Light (born 1979), Canadian rower
• Matt Light (born 1978), American football player
• Paul Light (psychologist), British psychologist and the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Winchester
• Paul C. Light, American political scientist
• Richard Upjohn Light (1902–1994), American neurosurgeon, aviator, cinematographer, and president of the American Geographical Society
• Timothy Light (born 1938), professor emeritus at Western Michigan University
• Walter Light (1927–1979), American musician
• Walter Frederick Light (1923–1996), Canadian businessman
• William Light (1786–1839), first Surveyor-General of South Australia
• William Light (cricketer) (1878–1930), English cricketer
• William Sidney "Cap" Light (died 1893), Texas lawman

See also

• Zion Lights (born 1984), British author and environmental activist