Georges
A surname that usually comes from the given name George, sometimes with a French patronymic ending or from a place-name tied to St. George.
The #6,109 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 55,025 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Georges is most commonly a surname built from the personal name George, itself from Greek Georgios, meaning “farmer” or “earth-worker.” In French-speaking areas, the final -s can reflect a patronymic or plural-style form, and in some cases it may also point to a place-name such as a Saint George locality. Historical surname writers also linked some bearers to the cult of St. George and to French or Norman place-forms beginning Saint-Georges.
History
The name is well attested in French and English contexts, and older surname scholarship notes both place-based and name-based origins. In England, it was still regarded as relatively uncommon in early records, though modern usage increased over time. Some branches of the family in the historical record were associated with Normandy, England, and Ireland.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century surname writers thought St. George should have made the surname far more common in England than it turned out to be.
From the historical record
“rare name in early mediaeval records. Quite modem in popu- larity, in spite of the many Georges in the l.ondon Directory. TTie fuller patronymic Georgeson has always been excessively rare. St. George of England ought to have impressed bis name more deeply”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances