Reeves
A surname meaning “the reeve’s son” or, more broadly, “descendant of the reeve,” from an old local official’s title.
The #390 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 3,766 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Reeves comes from the Middle English word reeve, an official title for a steward, bailiff, or village administrator, ultimately from Old English gerefa. The surname was formed as a possessive or plural-like patronymic, originally meaning “the reeve’s son” or “the reeve’s family/descendants.” In older records it appears alongside forms like Reeve, Reeveson, and related spellings such as Ryves.
History
The name is well established in England from the medieval period, appearing in records as early as the 13th and 14th centuries. It spread widely in England and later to Ireland, Scotland, North America, and other English-speaking regions. Some historical writers treated Reeves as simply a plural form of Reeve, while others emphasized the genitive/patronymic sense.
Origin
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Variant spellings
Fun fact
In medieval village life, a reeve was a real office-holder, so the surname preserves the memory of a job that once mattered a great deal in local government.
From the historical record
“REEVELL = Revell, q.v. REEVES, (the) Reeve's (Son) \ „ . REEVESON, (the) Reeve's Son J ''• «eeve. Thoinas le Revesone.^- Chesh. Chmbrlns.' Accts., A.D. 1303-4. REEVEY = Reavy, q.v. REFFELL, a form of Raphael, q.v. REFFITT, a var. of Raffltt, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)