Dawes
An English surname that usually comes from the medieval nickname Daw, often a short form of David.
The #5,452 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 48,370 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Dawes is generally understood as a patronymic surname meaning "son of Daw." Daw was a medieval English pet form of David, a biblical name from Hebrew meaning "beloved." In some older surname collections, Daw and related forms are also treated as nickname-based surnames, and a few writers suggested other local or French influences in specific cases, but the David explanation is the main one.
History
The surname appears in medieval and early modern English records in forms such as Dawe, Daw, Daws, and Dawes, especially in southern and eastern England. It spread naturally as English surnames became hereditary, and later went on to be carried to North America and other English-speaking regions. The name is closely related to the much more common Dawson and Dawkins family of surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname dictionaries often grouped Dawes with a whole cluster of names built from Daw, including Dawson, Dawkins, and Dawkes.
From the historical record
“Dawe Robson. co. York, 1473. W. 11. 1593- Married— Thomas Dawes and Bennett Jeoffrey: St. Jas. Cierkenwell, ill. 17. 1711. — Tohn Daw and Mary Annable : St Antbonn (LondonX p. 124.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)