English
Early records reveal that this surname originated in England. Stokes is a variation of the name Stoke. Etymology may be defined as the history of a word, revealed through the analysis of its parts, and by tracing its roots to past times and even to foreign languages. Such a study is of particular interest when applied to a name. Stokes belongs to the category of "topographic" names, or ones which had their roots in certain distinctive features in the landscape; in this case, a habitation name from any of the numerous places throughout England named "stoke" (Middle English) or the Old English "stoc". The earliest written references to persons bearing this surname pertain to Ricerus de Stochas (mentioned in a document from the year 1084), and later, a Cnut de Stoch (his name being recorded in a document dated 1166). An Ailwin de Stokes appears in a scroll written in the year 1195. Centuries ago, many families displayed mottoes - concise phrases which might express anything from a pun on the name to a religious or philosophical guiding principle - on scrolls, or below their coat of arms. The motto used by one branch of the Stokes family was "Vincit omnia Pertinax Virtux": "Stubborn Virtue Conquers All". Another line of the Stokes family employed the motto "Ire in adversa": "To Advance Against Adversity". Probably one of the first individuals bearing the surname Stokes to emigrate to America was a certain Grace Stokes, who at age 20 sailed from London to New England on a ship named Hopewell in the year 1635. According to the 1990 U.S. Census, Stokes is the 467th most common surname in the United States. There are approximately 54,000 people living in the United States today who have this surname.