mayor (English)

Where does "mayor" come from?

The word 'mayor' traces its roots back to the Latin 'maior,' meaning 'greater' or 'superior,' which derived from the Proto-Indo-European word for 'great.' It entered English via Old French, where it evolved from describing something larger to being the title for an official or head of government. This term eventually displaced older English titles like 'portreeve' and shares a linguistic history with the word 'major' and the Germanic 'Meier.'

Full etymology tree

mayor (English), 'The chief executive of the municipal government of a city, borough, etc., formerly (historical) usually appointed as a caretaker by European royal courts but now usually appointed or elected locally.'
- inherited maire (Middle English)
  - borrowed maire (Old French), 'primary; principal; most major'
    - derived maior (Latin), 'comparative degree of magnus'
      - inherited *magjōs (Proto-Italic), 'comparative degree of *magnos'
        inherited *méǵh₂yōs (Proto-Indo-European), 'bigger, greater'
        compound *méǵh₂s (Proto-Indo-European), 'big, great'
        inherited *m̥ǵh₂nós (Proto-Indo-European)
        derived *méǵh₂- (Proto-Indo-European)
        compound *-yōs (Proto-Indo-European), 'Forms adjectives from roots, meaning "very" or "rather".'

Direct ancestors

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris