Chose Family History

Possibly a variant of Jose (see Joyce) with unvoicing of the initial consonant. Perhaps from Middle English chos, a variant of Middle English Old French chois ‘noble handsome’ (see Choyce). However, this form of the word is recorded only in northern Middle English and the historical distribution of this surname is quite different from that of Choyce.

Alternatively, it may derive from Old French chose ‘thing’, alluding to an expression such as Old French faire la chose ‘have sexual intercourse’ or Old French and Middle English bele chose ‘female private parts’.