During the Heian period, samurai in the service of an aristocrat or samurai chief were called 'kenin' (retainers) and with the establishment of the Kamakura period, those warriors who served as attendants to the Lord of Kamakura came to be called 'gokenin' out of respect for the Lord of Kamakura.
平安時代には、貴族や武家の棟梁に仕える武士を「家人」と呼んでおり、鎌倉幕府が成立すると鎌倉殿と主従関係を結び従者となった武士を、鎌倉殿への敬意を表す「御」をつけて御家人と呼ぶようになった。