Squires

Etymology

Squires is generally understood as a status- or office-based surname from Middle English squire, 'esquire' or 'attendant upon a knight.' The word came through Anglo-French and Old French, where it referred to a shield-bearer and junior noble attendant. The final -s is usually the genitive or patronymic-looking ending often found in English surnames, giving the sense of 'the squire's' or 'descended from / associated with the squire.'

History

Early surname writers treat Squire and Squires as a family name derived from the medieval rank or office rather than from a place-name. Bardsley notes that Squires is a common English surname form, and also remarks that surnames from titles or social rank became especially common in parts of England. In modern English, the word squire survives in historical and rural senses, but the surname continues as an inherited family name.

Origin

Regions

Variant spellings

Fun fact

The word behind Squires is the same one that gave English the title esquire, once a real social rank rather than just an honorific.

Related surnames