<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Footnotes: Frequency Comparisons: </Td> </Tr> <P> Duke is a surname meaning' the leader' or' son of Marmaduke' . It is the 856th most common surname in the United States . </P> <P> The first is that the surname Duke and its variant, Dukes, are both derived from the various Middle English words duc, duk, and douc, which all came from the Old French word "duc ." This ultimately stemmed from the Latin dux, meaning "leader," and is a derivative of ducere, "to lead ." The surname was evidently acquired by someone who was looked upon as a leader, not denoting one of noble birth since many captains or military leaders were titled landholders who would have taken their last names from their estates . The surname Dukes translates literally as "Duke's son ." </P> <P> Alternatively, it has been suggested by scholars that the surname is simply a shortened form of Marmaduke, which is from the Irish Maelmaedoc, meaning' servant of Maedoc .' St Maedoc was a Christian missionary in 7th Century Wales and Ireland . As a Plantation surname, it can be found primarily in east Ulster and has been Gaelicised as Diúc . </P>

Where does the last name dukes come from