Motes
A surname most likely from a nickname or personal byname, rather than a job or place name.
The #9,006 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 85,030 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is probably connected with a nickname or byname, from forms like Spanish mote, meaning a nickname or sobriquet. In older Spanish usage, a mote could be a personal label that later became hereditary as a family name. In English records, Motes may also reflect a pluralized or variant spelling of a nickname-based surname such as Mote or Moots, so the precise route can vary by family.
History
The strongest historical clue in the supplied excerpts is the Spanish discussion of motes as old personal bynames that could later be inherited, especially in medieval and early modern families. In English-speaking countries, Motes appears much later and is usually treated as a surname spelling tied to nickname-based forms rather than a major independent lineage. Because the name is uncommon, multiple local origins may have merged under the same spelling.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Spanish writers cited in the excerpts note that some famous medieval surnames began as motes and were only later treated as hereditary family names.
From the historical record
“mast, for longest fynger hit is.* 1694. Married— Motes Pearepoint and Mary Midlemaas : St Jaa. Clerkenwell, ill 214. I90O. — Searlea Middleman and Eliia- beth doart : Canterburv Cathedral.jp. 69.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)