"Sargeauntes, katche pollys, and somners" (Cocke Lorelles Bote).
The administration of justice occupied a horde of officials, from the Justice down to the Catchpole. The official title Judge is rarely found, and this surname is usually from the female name Judge, which, like Jug, was used for Judith, and later for Jane—
"Jannette, Judge, Jennie; a woman's name" (Cotgrave).
The names Judson and Juxon sometimes belong to these. Catchpole has nothing to do with poles or polls. It is a Picard cache-poule (chasse-poule), collector of poultry in default of money. Another name for judge was Dempster, the pronouncer of doom, a title which still exists in the Isle of Man. We also find Deemer—
"Demar, judicator" (Prompt. Parv.).
Mayor is a learned spelling of Mair, Fr. maire, Lat. major, but Major, which looks like its latinized form, is perhaps imitative for the Old French personal name Mauger. Bishop Mauger of Worcester pronounced the interdict in 1208, and the surname still exists.
Gaylor, Galer, is the Norman pronunciation of gaoler
"And Palamon, this woful prisoner,
As was his wone, bi leve of his gayler,
Was risen" (A, 1064).
Usher is Fr. huissier, door-keeper, Fr. huis, door, Lat. ostium. I conjecture that Lusher is the French name Lhuissier, and that Lush is local, for Old Fr. le huis; cf. Laporte. Wait, corruptly Weight, now used only of a Christmas minstrel, was once a watchman. It is a dialect form of Old Fr. gaite, cognate with watch. The older sense survives in the expression "to lie in wait." Gate is the same name, when not local (Chapter XIII).