Estes surname meaning

Estes is an English topographic surname from Middle English est, “east.” It named someone who came from the east or who lived on the eastern side of a village or settlement. Dictionary notes stress that Estes is still often pronounced as two syllables, matching medieval usage rather than collapsing to a single syllable. East, Eastes, and Estus are related forms. The name is directional and residential rather than occupational or patronymic. Place is the catalog type for that east-side topographic sense, at high confidence.