Cavalier
A surname taken from the word for a horseman or knight, often used as a title or nickname for a gentleman soldier.
The #9,848 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 93,986 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Cavalier comes from French chevalier/cavalier, ultimately from Late Latin caballarius, meaning someone connected with a horse. In plain terms, the name means “horseman” or “knight.” The surname was usually applied as an occupational or status-based nickname, especially for a mounted warrior or a man associated with chivalry.
History
English surname books record Cavalier as an obvious surname form of Chevalier, meaning “the knight.” In Britain it appears as a relatively uncommon surname and is also sometimes linked in records to immigrant or foreign-name usage rather than deep native English origin. The word itself remained familiar in English as both a social term and a historical label for a gentleman or royalist supporter.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older surname dictionaries, Cavalier is treated alongside related forms like Chevalier and Horseman as a transparent nickname for a knightly man.
From the historical record
“stood at the end of a causewaj\ CAVALIER. A horseman, knight. CAVALL. "Caval signifieth a horse." Camd. Fr. cJicval, from Lat. cabaUus. CAVE. Two parishes in Yorkshire, called North and South Cave, were the residence of the ancestors of the Caves now of Stretton, co. Derby, soon after the Con- quest. Shirley.…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom