Sales
A surname usually from a place-name or house sign meaning “the hall,” though some bearers may instead descend from Salford-type local names.
The #3,418 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 29,576 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most historical surname dictionaries treat Sales as a local surname. One common explanation links it to Old French sale, meaning “hall,” used of someone who lived by or at a hall or large house. Another line of interpretation connects it with place-names such as Salford or with older local forms related to Old English terms for a hall or ford, but the “hall” sense is the clearest and most frequently cited. The final -s is often explained as an added surname ending or a genitival form in English local names.
History
Medieval records show forms such as de la Sale, and later Sales, Saile(s), and related spellings. English surname writers in the 19th and early 20th centuries also linked the name with place-based surnames and noted that the final -s could be an excrescent or genitive addition. The surname remains comparatively uncommon in the United States, but it survives in Britain and other English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A famous medieval bearer was Sir John de la Sale, a knight mentioned in later historical sources and surname dictionaries.
From the historical record
“John de la Sale. — Fine-Rolls. Cp. Seal(e. SALES, genit., and pi., of Sale, q.v. SALFORD (Eng.) Bel. to Salford.; or Dweller at I the WiLLdw-FoRD [O.E. s{e)alh rf ford] 2 the Salt Ford [O.E. s{e)alt + ford] The Lane, place (Domesday, Salford; later also Sauford) and the Bedfd. village belong to i ; the Warw.…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)