An English word which was a nickname for a small man. It also was a way differentiate the younger of two bearers of the same personal name. The French form is Petit and was many times joined with another name like Jean-Petit to mean Little John.

Most of the people with the Little surname originated from England, Ireland, Scotland and Germany.

In the 1880s, Little family members were mostly farmers.

Cumberland and Lancashire counties have the high numbers of the surname Little. In Scotland the counties of Lanarkshire and Dumfries-shire have the greatest percentage of Little families.

The states of , Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York have a good number of the Little families.

Famous: Rich Little (impersonator of famous people throughout the world), Angela Little (model and actress), Ken Little (sculptor), Tasmin Little (English violinist), Jean Little (Canadian children’s book writer), Ralf A. Little (English actor, writer and footballer), Malcolm Little (known as Malcolm X - a Muslim minister and religious leader in the U. S.), Sally Little (professional golfer) and William John Little (medical doctor who identified cerebral palsy in children).