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Irish surname

Stokes: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

de Stóc · Norman 'de Stoke', i.e. of Stoke, a common English place-name, from Old English 'stoc', a village

Woulfe (1923) treats Stokes under de Stóc: Norman 'de Stoke', i.e. of Stoke, 'a common English place-name'. He says the surname came into Ireland about the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion and was common in many parts of the country. He gives it a Norman origin, not a Gaelic one. In 1890, 28 Stokes birth entries were registered in Ireland.

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Coat of arms associated with the Stokes surname
Irish formde Stóc
MeaningNorman 'de Stoke', i.e. of Stoke, a common English place-name, from Old English 'stoc', a village
Other spellings4

Origin of the Stokes name

Woulfe: Norman 'de Stoke', i.e. of Stoke, a common English place-name, from Old English 'stoc', a village; it 'came into Ireland about the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion, and was common in many parts of the country'. His Stóc entry sends the reader to de Stóc.[1][2]

  1. 1763Whitley Stokes, later a doctor of medicine, is born (Webb).[5]
  2. 1793Whitley Stokes takes his degree of Doctor of Medicine (Webb).[5]
  3. 1804William Stokes, physician, is born in Dublin (Webb).[6]
  4. 1828William Stokes publishes his first work, on the stethoscope (Webb).[6]
  5. 189028 Stokes birth entries in Ireland: Leinster 10, Munster 13, Ulster 3, Connaught 2.[3]

Notable people named Stokes

Whitley Stokes1763–1845Doctor of Medicine; Trinity College fellowship 1788; suspended from teaching for three years after Lord Clare's 1798 visitation.[5]
William Stokes1804–1878Dublin physician, son of Whitley Stokes; wrote on the stethoscope (1828) and on diseases of the chest (1837).[6]

Other spellings

de Stoke · de Stokes · Stoke · Stoakes[2]

The Stokes coat of arms

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the Stokes surname. In Irish and British heraldry a coat of arms is granted to one person and passes to their heirs; it does not belong to everyone who shares the surname. Many families still use the arms of their name as a symbol of their heritage.

Stokes crest gifts

Clan Stokes Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest Classic Cap TA20 Stokes Coat Of Arms Irish Cap Stokes Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest Classic Cap$33.45Clan Stokes Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest St Patrick's Day Classic CapKY15 Classic Cap - Stokes Coat Of Arms St Patrick's Day Classic Cap Irish Cap Stokes Coat Of Arms - Irish Family Crest St Patrick's Day Classic Cap$42.45

Stokes surname: questions

What does the surname Stokes mean?

Woulfe gives Stokes as from Norman 'de Stoke', i.e. of Stoke, 'a common English place-name', from Old English 'stoc', a village. He adds that monosyllabic surnames of local origin often add the genitive s after the manner of patronymics.[2]

Is Stokes an Irish or an English name?

Woulfe treats it as a Norman name from the English place-name Stoke, which 'came into Ireland about the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion'. He does not give a Gaelic origin for it.[2]

How common was the name Stokes in Ireland?

Woulfe says it was common in many parts of the country. In 1890, 28 Stokes birth entries were registered in Ireland: 13 in Munster, 10 in Leinster, 3 in Ulster and 2 in Connaught.[2][3]

Who were Whitley and William Stokes?

Webb describes Whitley Stokes (born 1763) as a doctor of medicine and William Stokes (born in Dublin in 1804) as his son, an eminent physician who wrote on the stethoscope and on diseases of the chest.[5][6]

Sources

  1. STÓC — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/s/stoc.php
  2. de STÓC — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/d/de-stoc.php
  3. Stokes — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/stokes.php
  4. Stokes — Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1901), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/varieties/list/1929.php
  5. Stokes, Dr. Whitley — A Compendium of Irish Biography (Alfred Webb, 1878), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/biography/DrWhitleyStokes.php
  6. Stokes, Dr. William — A Compendium of Irish Biography (Alfred Webb, 1878), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/biography/DrWilliamStokes.php

Note: Matheson's 1890 figures for a surname include its spelling varieties (Matheson, Table Explanation).