An English surname, Stokes comes from the Old English term of ‘stocc’ which meant the stock and trunk of a tree. It can also refer to a place such as a hamlet. Spelling variations for Stokes include Stocks, Stoke and Stoaks. The counties of Pembrokeshire in Wales and then Somerset, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Derbyshire in England have many Stokes families. In Scotland most live in Lanarkshire county. In the United States the Stokes families are mostly in the east half of the United States. The states with the greater percentage are New York, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Famous: Carl Burton Stokes (first African-American mayor for Cleveland, Ohio), Ed Stokes ( professional basketball player), Elizabeth Dilling Stokes (an anti-war protester in the United States during World War II), Barry Stokes (English actor), Frederick Stokes (investor of the Stokes Mortar), Rufus Stokes (scientist-inventor improving air quality), Suzanne Stokes (actress and model) and Tim P. Stokes (professional football player).