Marquis Family History

French: from the title marquis ‘marquess’ applied as an ironic nickname to someone who behaved like a marquis or as a metonymic occupational name for a servant in the household of a marquis. The title derived from an ancient Germanic word meaning ‘boundary’ (compare March) originally referred to the governor of a border territory.

Marquises did not form part of the original French feudal structure of nobility; the title was first adopted by the Counts of Toulouse because of their possessions in the border region beyond the Rhône. Compare Markee and Markey.

English: nickname from Middle English markis ‘marquis marquess nobleman’ (Old French marchis); see also 1 above. The word is also found as a female personal name which may also be origin of the surname.

Portuguese: cognate of Marques 1 and of the name in 1 above.