Dukes
A surname usually from the title Duke, often used as a nickname or status-based byname, and sometimes explained as meaning “son of a duke.”
The #1,622 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,916 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Dukes is generally treated as a surname built on the title Duke, from Old French and ultimately Latin roots meaning a leader or commander. In English surname practice, it could begin as a nickname, a status-like byname, or a reference to someone associated with a duke’s household or rank. Some older writers also explained it as a patronymic-like form meaning “the son of a duke,” but that is more speculative than the simple title-based origin.
History
Medieval records show forms such as le Duk and similar spellings, and 19th-century surname writers regularly grouped Dukes with Duke and related forms like Duckett. The name is found in England from the Middle Ages onward and later spread through Britain and the English-speaking world. Because the title itself carried prestige, the surname may have been applied in more than one way, which makes its exact first use hard to pin down.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries sometimes compared Dukes to Fitzroy, since both were thought in some cases to suggest connection with high rank rather than simple occupation or place.
From the historical record
“duke. DUKES. See Duke. DUKESON. This name Avas probably applied in the first instance to the illegiti- mate sou of a Duke. It is analogous to Fitzroy. DUKINFTELD. Tlie ancestors of the baronet Avere seated at Dukinfield in Che- shire as early at least as the reign of Edward I.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom