Re: Messiaen surname.
in reply to a message by Dorchadas
According to Germain & Herbillon's Dictionnaire des noms de famille en Wallonie et à Bruxelles, Messiaen is an apheresis of Domitia(e)n which comes from the Latin name Domitius (< domus 'house'). See also http://www.geneanet.org/nom-de-famille/domitien for variants.