Weeks
An English surname usually derived from a place-name, especially one of several places called Week or Weeke.
The #831 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 7,428 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Weeks is generally an English locational surname. The historical sources link it to places called Week, Weeke, or Weekley, with the basic sense of a settlement or farmstead; one explanation connects it with Old English elements for a bend, creek, or small dwelling place, while another relates it to wick/lea compounds. The surname was also sometimes treated as a plural or genitive form of Week, and some older writers thought a few examples had been influenced by similar-looking names such as Wilkes.
History
The name appears in medieval and later records in several spellings, especially Weeke and Weekes. It seems to have arisen independently from more than one local place-name, which helps explain its spread in different parts of England. By the 19th century it was established widely enough to be treated as a common English surname rather than a single-family name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century surname writers disagreed a bit on whether Weeks came from Week, Wykes, or Weekley, showing how often English surnames can have more than one local origin.
From the historical record
“WEEKES 1 1 genit., and pi., of Week(e, q.v. WEEKS J 2 assim. forms of Wilkes, q.v. WEEKLEY\(Eng.) Bel. to Weekley (North- WEEKLY J ants), a.d. 956 Wlcledh = the Wick-Lea [v. under Wick, and + O.E. ledh, a meadow, &c.] WEET (Eng.) Active, Bold [O.E. hwdkt,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)