Cavendish is the surname of a
British noble family, also known as the
House of Cavendish. This Cavendish family has been one of the richest and most influential aristocratic families in England since the 16th century, and has been rivalled in political influence perhaps only by the
Marquesses of Salisbury and the
Earls of Derby. They are descended from Sir
John Cavendish of
Cavendish in the county of
Suffolk (c. 1346–1381), which has held the following peerages: