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English: nickname from a word denoting the animal (Middle English Old English fox) widely used to denote a sly or cunning individual. It was also used for someone with red hair. In England this surname absorbed some early examples of surnames derived from the ancient Germanic personal names mentioned at Faulks and Foulks . Irish: part translation of Gaelic Mac an tSionnaigh ‘son of the fox’ (see Tinney ). Irish: also adopted for Ó Catharnaigh see Kearney . Americanized form (translation into English) of surnames meaning ‘fox’ or ‘he-fox’ for example German and Jewish Fuchs and its Central German variant Fochs Croatian Lisac Slovenian Lisjak and Finnish Kettunen. See also Redfox Americanized form of Focks a North German patronymic from the personal name Fock (see Volk ). Native American: translation into English (and shortening) of a personal name based on a word such as Cheyenne ma'ehoohe meaning ‘fox’. The cultural significance of the fox to Native Americans is reflected in their traditional personal names some of which were adopted as surnames (translated into English) e.g. Red Fox (see Redfox ).
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022