Hello Maureen: Esq. is short for "esquire." Esquire originally was a name given to a candidate for knighthood, serving as attendant to a knight. It was a ranking of English gentry, just below a knight. Later it bacame a titile of courtesy, placed after a man's full name (from Old French, "esquier / escuier" meaning squire or a "shield-carrier."). Today the most common use of the title is with attorneys, however old graves bearing this title after the name of the deseased don't necessarily indicate that the person was a lawyer. John C. Schumacher-Hardy Lancaster, MA