esquier

Esquier is a surname and a historical variant spelling of the English title esquire. In medieval and early modern England, the word esquire referred to a gentleman who served as a knight’s shield-bearer and attendant, and it functioned as a social rank as well as a form of polite address. The Old French form escuyer gave rise to the English spellings Esquier, Esquyer, and related variants, with the -ier suffix characteristic of occupational surnames that later passed into family names.

In modern usage, Esquier is uncommon as a surname and is largely encountered in genealogical or archival contexts. When found, it typically reflects older records or family lineages dating from the 16th to 19th centuries, and may be encountered alongside other variant spellings of the same name. The similarly spelled Esquire remains the standard English form for the courtesy title, while in French the cognate is ecuyer or écuyer, still used in modern language contexts.

Notable people with the surname Esquier are not widely documented in general reference sources; the name is primarily of historical interest and is studied within genealogical or onomastic research.

See also: Esquire, écuyer, escuyer.