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DUKE Family History

This interesting name has two possible origins, the first of which is derived from the Middle English 'duk(e)', duke, also found as 'douk, duc, doke', and developed from the Old French 'duc', in the sense of the leader of an army, captain, derived from the Latin 'dux, ducis', leader. This surname would have been acquired as a nickname for a 'leader', or for someone who acted as if he were one, or it may have been an occupational surname for someone employed in a ducal household. The second possible origin of the modern surname is from the personal name 'Duke', a short form of 'Marmaduke', which is a given name of Irish origin thought to derive from the Gaelic 'mael Maedoc', devotee of Maedoc, a personal name borne by various early Irish saints...