The duke Surname
duke Name Meaning and History
- English and Irish: from Middle English duk(e) ‘duke’ (from Old French duc, from Latin dux, genitive ducis ‘leader’), applied as an occupational name for someone who worked in the household of a duke, or as a nickname for someone who gave himself airs and graces.
- English and Irish: possibly also from the personal name Duke, a short form of Marmaduke, a personal name said to be from Irish mael Maedoc ‘devotee (mael, maol ‘bald’, ‘tonsured one’) of Maedoc’, a personal name (M’Aodhóg) meaning ‘my little Aodh’, borne by various early Irish saints, in particular a 6th-century abbot of Clonmore and a 7th-century bishop of Ferns.
- Scottish: compare the old Danish personal name Duk (Old Norse Dukr).
- In some cases, possibly an Americanized form of French Leduc or Spanish Duque.
- Possibly an Americanized spelling of Polish Duk, a nickname from dukac ‘to stammer or falter’.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Learn the meaning and history of your first name
Share this page with friends and family
Search for duke records
More resources for your duke family history
Duke message board
Threads: 884 - Messages: 2128
Start your FREE family tree. Who will you discover?
A family tree is the easiest way to start discovering your family history. To begin, just enter whatever you know and we'll use that to try and find more information for you.
Begin your family tree with your name:
The duke name in History
A unique volume of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary following the duke family name as far back in history as possible.
Member Connections
- Anonymously contact one of the Ancestry members researching the duke last name.
- Search for Ancestry members researching one of your specific ancestors.
- Create or update your own Ancestry member profile so that other members can anonymously contact you.
More Tools and Resources
- Search Ancestry.com for all of your duke ancestors.
- Create and publish your own family history book using Ancestry Press.
- Learn more about your family history using DNA Ancestry.
- Learn more about family history in the Ancestry Learning Center.
- Visit the Ancestry.com homepage.