Scales (surname)

The surname Scales has more than one possible origin.

In some cases, the surname may originate from a name for someone who lived near huts or sheds. In such cases, the surname is derived from the Middle English scale, schole, scole, meaning "(temporary) hut, shed, shieling" (from Old Scandinavian skáli). The surname may also originate from a specific place name of the same meaning, such as Scole (Norfolk), or from various other places called Scales or Scholes, mainly in northern England. The surname first appeared on record in Ireland, in Limerick, in the fourteenth century. The surname can be rendered in Irish as de Scéalas.

In other cases, the surname Scales originates from a place name in France. In such cases, it is derived from Écalles-Alix in Seine-Maritime, or from Escalles in Pas-de-Calais.

People with the surname include:
 * Baron Scales, a title in the Peerage of England, including a list of people named de Scales
 * Alfred Moore Scales (1827–1892), Governor of North Carolina and Confederate Army general during the American Civil War
 * Derek Percival Scales (1921–2004), Australian literary scholar
 * Dwight Scales (born 1953), former National Football League wide receiver
 * George Scales (1900–1976), American baseball player and manager in the Negro leagues
 * Harvey Scales (1940–2019), American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and producer
 * Helen Scales, British marine biologist
 * John Scales (born 1966), English former footballer
 * John N. Scales (born 1933 or 1934), American former Pennsylvania state senator
 * Junius Scales (1920–2002), a leader of the Communist Party of the United States of America
 * Patrick Scales (American football) (born 1988), American football player
 * Prunella Scales (born 1932), English actor best known for the television series Fawlty Towers
 * Robert H. Scales (born 1944), retired US Army major general
 * Sally Scales (born 1989), South Australian artist, coordinator at the APY Art Centre Collective in Adelaide
 * Tegray Scales (born 1996), American football player
 * Thomas Scales (1786–1860), British abolitionist