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).
[3] The surname first appeared on record in Ireland, in Limerick, in the fourteenth century.
[5] 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,[6] or from Escalles in Pas-de-Calais.