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Surname Etymology and Meaning of NICE

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Name meanings and etymologies are often disputed. The information here is compiled from freely available sources, and no claims whatsoever are made for accuracy, either historical or etymological.

1. English (Essex) and French: nickname from Middle English, Old French nice ‘foolish’, ‘simple’ (Latin nescius ‘ignorant’). In the 14th century the English word also acquired the sense ‘wanton’ and in the 15th century ‘coy’, ‘shy’, both of which meanings may be reflected in the surname. The sense ‘fastidious’, ‘precise’, ‘minute’ developed only in the 16th century, probably too late to have given rise to any surnames, and the present-day sense of general approbation is not clearly attested until the late 19th century.
2. Americanized spelling of German Neis.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names (2003)