Mapes
An English surname that is probably a variant of Maples, though the exact family origin is not fully certain.
The #6,260 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 56,588 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Mapes is likely related to the older English surname Maples, which itself can come from a topographic name for someone living by maple trees or a place so called. In historical records, spellings often shifted freely, so Mapes may simply be a shortened or altered form of Maples. The excerpts provided do not give a definitive etymology for Mapes itself, so this should be treated as a probable but not fully proved explanation.
History
The name appears in English and later American records, and it is uncommon rather than widespread. Nineteenth-century surname writers also noted forms like Mapes alongside Maples, suggesting a close relationship between the two spellings. In the United States, Mapes is established as a minor surname, with several thousand bearers in the 2010 census.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One historical mention in the sources lists Mapes among unusual house and inn signs, showing how surname forms could overlap with everyday words and place-names.
From the historical record
“iSog. Marrlnl'MarBriall Lnnr and Msrr Mapes; St. Geo, Han. SqTii. 400. London,!, o; MDB.(co.EaKi),Oki: Philadelphia; o,. a * ' Ziiike, Lukes, Zinke. — (i)”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances