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Help[Surname] Re: Estes
in reply to a message by Stef
If you go to http://tinyurl.com/44g5zlf, you'll find that the Italian name D'Este has been proposed as the origin of Estes. However, you'll also find that the name was variously spelled Eustace, Ewstas, Eustes and the like, and this makes it much more probable that Estes is an alteration of Eustace (also found as Ewstace, Eustes, Eustis, etc.) whose origin you'll find at http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Eustace-name-meaning.ashx
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I don't know why it would be spelled that...it's been "Estes" since at least the 1500s. There isn't a U sound in the modern family's pronouncation like in Eustace so it's weird that over time it's dropped that sound. We all say something like "Es-tis," with the 'i' sounding like the 'i' in 'bit.' So I think I put more faith into the possible Italian origin. Very interesting and I'll keep the Eustace and variations idea in my notes.
Thanks for your help. :)
Thanks for your help. :)
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Wise not to put faith in websites offering 'family crests'. I have to say that I've never encountered this name as English, only American.
I was dubious about the Kentish, even English, origin, but the information here -
http://www.roots-boots.net/ft/l-eastes.txt
looks reliable. Note that the English spelling is Eastes, a name new to me, and very rare if it exists at all in England today. It could be a variant of Eustace, or from the word 'east'. Personally I'm very sceptical about the D'Este origin.
I was dubious about the Kentish, even English, origin, but the information here -
http://www.roots-boots.net/ft/l-eastes.txt
looks reliable. Note that the English spelling is Eastes, a name new to me, and very rare if it exists at all in England today. It could be a variant of Eustace, or from the word 'east'. Personally I'm very sceptical about the D'Este origin.
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