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Surname Etymology and Meaning of REEVES

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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.

From Reeve, a bailiff, provost, or steward, Shirereeve, Wood-reeve, (Sheriff, Woodruff.)

Source: An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names With an Essay on their Derivation and Import (1857).

1. patronymic from Reeve.
2. topographic name for someone who lived on the margin of a wood, from a misdivision of the Middle English phrase atter eves ‘at the edge’ (Old English æt þære efese).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names (2003)