Is this your surname? Why not share this page on Facebook

Surname Etymology and Meaning of MARQUIS

New! Discuss the origin and etymology of MARQUIS at the British Surnames Forum - contribute your own knowledge and information about where MARQUIS comes from.

Name meanings and etymologies are often disputed. The information here is compiled from freely available sources, and no claims whatsoever are made for accuracy, either historical or etymological.

1. French (of Norman origin) and English: nickname for someone who behaved like a marquis or an occupational name for a servant in the household of a marquis, from Old Northern French marquis. The title originally referred to the governor of a border territory (from a Germanic word; compare March 1 and Mark 2). Marquises did not form part of the original French feudal structure of nobility; the title was first adopted by the Counts of Toulouse because of their possessions in the border region beyond the Rhône.
2. Scottish: shortened form of McMarquis (Gaelic Mac Marcuis), a patronymic from the personal name Marcus (see Mark).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names (2003)