Oakes
A surname for someone who lived by oak trees, oak woods, or a place called Oak/Oake.
The #2,065 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,644 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Oakes is a local surname built on Old English "āc," meaning "oak tree." It most likely began as a name for someone who lived near oak trees or an oak grove, and in some cases it may point to a place called Oake in Somerset. The final -s can reflect either a plural/collective form or an old habit of adding -s to local surnames.
History
The name is well established in England, especially in areas where oak trees or places named from them were common. Early records and later surname dictionaries treat Oakes alongside related forms such as Oakey and Noakes. The surname later spread to North America with English migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A famous bearer was the English geologist and Antarctic explorer Frank Oates, whose surname is often confused with Oakes in older records and indexes.
From the historical record
“[O.E. dc + demi] OAKES, pi., an,d genit., of Oak(e, q.v. Roger of the Okes. — Pari. Writs. OAKESHOTT, v. Oakshott. OAKEY (Eng.) Dweller at i the OakJsland or -Waterside [O.E. dc, oak-tree -f- i(e)g (M.E. «y), island, etc] 2 the Oak-Hey (Enclosure) * [0,E. dc,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)