Mayor is an English and Spanish-language surname with several etymological origins. The English-language name is sometimes a variant spelling of ''Mayer'',. This webpage cited: . and thus derived from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

and

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligi ...

''mair'', ''maire'' (in turn derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

''maior'', meaning "greater", "superior"); this surname originated from the title of a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

.. This webpage cited: . The surname ''Mayor'' can also be derived from a nickname, derived from the Spanish ''mayor'', meaning "older", borne by the elder of two individuals with the same name. Another origin of the surname is from an occupational name, derived from the Spanish ''major'', meaning "governor", "chief". The surname can also be a

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...

variant of the surname ''Major'', derived from ''major'', meaning "greater", used to denote an elder son of a particular family or an important person.. This webpage cited: . The surname ''Mayor'' can also be derived from the Yiddish personal name ''Meyer'', which is derived from the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. It was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a spoken language by their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans, ...

''Meir'', which in turn means "enlightener".. This webpage cited: . The Mayor surname in England was originally a French-language surname of Norman origin. The Mayor surname originates from, and is a variant of, the personal name

Mauger Mauger may refer to: *Mauger (French name), a Norman surname * Mauger (Jamaican Patois term), a term used in rural Jamaica for a thin woman People with the given name * Mauger of Hauteville (died 1050s), son of Tancred of Hauteville *Mauger (Archb ...

, and carries the meanings of "council spear" and "authority". The French surname became Anglicized after the Norman Conquest of 1066, taking several forms including Mayre in Middle English and eventually Mayor.

List of persons with the surname

Federico Mayor Zaragoza Federico Mayor Zaragoza (born 27 January 1934 in Barcelona) is a Spanish scientist, scholar, politician, diplomat, and poet. He served as director-general of UNESCO from 1987 to 1999. He is currently the chairman of the Foundation for a Culture of ...

(born 1934), Spanish scholar and politician * Flora Macdonald Mayor (1872–1932), English novelist *

John Eyton Bickersteth Mayor John Eyton Bickersteth Mayor (28 January 1825 – 1 December 1910) was an English classical scholar, writer and vegetarianism activist. Life Mayor was born at Baddegama, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) the son of Rev. John Major and Charlotte ...

(1825–1910), English classical scholar * Joseph Bickersteth Mayor (1828–1916), English classical scholar and philosopher * Michel Mayor (born 1942), Swiss Astronomy professor at the University of Geneva *Robert John Grote Mayor (1869–1947), British civil servant * Teresa Mayor Rothschild (1915–1996), British counter-intelligence officer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayor (Surname) French-language surnames English-language surnames Jewish surnames Occupational surnames Spanish-language surnames Yiddish-language surnames