Maes
A Dutch, Flemish, or Welsh surname usually linked to a meadow or open field.
The #5,746 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 51,176 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is most commonly explained as a surname from Middle Dutch or related Low Countries forms meaning “meadow” or “open field,” with spellings such as Maes, Maas, and Mees found in old records. A Welsh connection is also possible in some cases, since Welsh maes means “field” or “plain.” Because these traditions overlap in spelling and geography, the surname may have independent origins in more than one region.
History
The form is well attested in the Low Countries and later appears in English records, especially for people of Dutch or Flemish origin. In Britain, it could also be attached to immigrants or to families whose name was later standardized as Maes, Maas, or Mees. The surname remains especially associated with Dutch, Belgian, and Welsh naming traditions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname lists show Maes alongside several very close spellings, suggesting that scribes often wrote the name by ear rather than by a fixed standard.
From the historical record
“traction of Bartolomieus) j • Mais, Mese; Dch. Mes, Mee FI. Maes, Mees ; D. Maes, Mes , p.n. Or from Meysse ; a loc. 1 Belg. ; Mes, Norm. Hugt. t y Lond. 1618 In Rot. Hund.”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)