The porteous Surname
porteous Name Meaning and History
Scottish: probably a topographic name for someone who lived in the
lodge at the entrance to a manor house, from Middle English
port ‘gateway’, ‘entrance’ + hous ‘house’, or an
occupational name with similar meaning, from Latin portarius
‘porter’. Alternatively, as suggested by Reaney, it may be from
Anglo-Norman French porte-hors ‘portable prayerbook’ (i.e. a
book of hours), hence a metonymic occupational name for a scribe
employed in writing such books. The surname is also established in
Ireland, the earliest record of its presence there being dated 1563.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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