Rectors Last Name: Meaning and Heraldic Roots

Spellings drift, and Rectors is where Rector drifted for some families. Name scholars give the meaning as “Parish rector”. The extra ending in Rectors is patronymic: it identified a person as belonging to Rector's family. Spellings drifted because names were written down by ear in parish books, tax rolls and passenger lists.

A coat of arms belongs to a particular family line rather than to everyone named Rectors, so the heraldry linked to Rector is a starting point, not an automatic right. For the full story, order the Rectors surname pack.