Mayes
Usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of May,” with May likely serving as a short form of Matthew or, less often, Maya-like given names.
The #1,408 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 12,225 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Mayes is generally explained as “the son of May,” with the final -s marking the patronymic form. In older English surname work, May is treated as a short form connected to Matthew through medieval nickname forms, though some writers also allow other personal-name origins for May. So the core sense is a family-name built from a personal name rather than from the month of May itself.
History
Historical surname dictionaries record Mayes alongside forms such as Mays and Mayse, and they treat it as part of the wider group of English surnames derived from short personal names. The name appears in English records by the 16th and 17th centuries in several spellings. Later surname usage settled most often on Mayes, though Mays remains a common related form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century surname writers sometimes linked Mayes to May as a nickname form of Matthew, a reminder that medieval nicknames could travel far from the original full name.
From the historical record
“MAYERS, Mayer's (Son) : v. Mayer. MAYES, May(e)'s (Son) : v. May(e. MAYGER, a var. of Meager and Meagher, q.v. MAYHALL(Eng.)Bel. to Maghull (S.W. Lanes), 13th cent. Mahalie = the Tribal or National Hill [O.E.mcfe^, tribe, nation, province + hal(h, a slope, hill, corner]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)