Marques
A Romance surname linked either to the noble title “marquess/marquis” or, in some cases, to the Latin-rooted idea of a border lord.
The #4,716 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 41,057 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Marques is a surname that can arise from the noble title marquess/marquis, ultimately from a Germanic word for a border or frontier district. The Spanish excerpt points to this title sense, explaining it as a dignity connected with a “marca” or borderland, like the German margrave. In Portuguese and Spanish usage, Marques can also function as a surname formed from a title or nickname rather than from occupation or place.
History
As a surname, Marques is especially common in Portugal and the Spanish-speaking world, where it often reflects the prestige of a title rather than direct descent from an actual marquess. Comparable surname forms also appear in French and other Romance-language areas. In some contexts it may be a hereditary surname adopted from a social title, while in others it may simply be an onomastic form that became fixed over time.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same frontier-root idea behind Marques also lies behind the English title “marquess” and the German “margrave.”
From the historical record
“Markisa Galle, C R., 11 Edw. II. 'Item, to Marques Loryden, fmyn- sirelU, 66s. &/' : Privy Purse Exp., Elisa- beth of York, p. 100. 1797. Married— Archibald Marquisand Helen Scott : St Gea Han. Sq. ii. 162.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)