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ArchivesRe: Juchau name meaning (English)
in reply to a message by jonesilove
The name originated with the Huguenots (as previously noted on this forum: https://www.behindthename.com/bb/baby/5436702). Further information is available here: https://www.huguenotsofspitalfields.org/huguenot-family-stories/tom-juchau/. It seems to have gone extinct wherever it originated.
The meaning of this name is obscure, so please note the following is personal speculation:
Seeing the spelling of the name and pronunciation, my first thought was German (though the pronunciation would be anglicized). Noted on the Huguenots' website, Tom Juchau was referred to as "the Swiss" as his name was thought to be Swiss. I find this interesting as he is the son of a French immigrant, and according to French orthography the name would be pronounced zhuy-SHOH (this could simply be due to self-anglicization or the ignorance of others, however). Upon further research, the Huguenots themselves are from eastern France (Alsace, Moselle, and Montbéliard) near the border with Switzerland and Germany, and their name is believed to have Swiss or German origins. Given the Juchaus' affiliation with the family, I wondered if their name could be Swiss German. While Tom Juchau's father emigrated from Deux-Sèvres (in western France), this could have been the result of earlier internal migration due to the contemporary persecution of the Huguenots.
Assuming the above is true, I looked for places named Juchau but could not find any. But, searching for places named Juch, I got several hits from the GNS database (available here: https://geonames.nga.mil/geonames/GeographicNamesSearch/), all in Switzerland. Searching for definitions of juch I found it to be an interjection equivalent to "yay" or "hooray." However, I think it is far more likely to be an Alemannic German form of Joch, meaning "ridge; mountain pass; col." As for the suffix -au, it is a common place name element from Old High German ouwa, meaning "stream; island; marsh." Thus, I think it is plausible that Juchau originates from Switzerland and means "stream of the ridge/pass," or something like that. Or "Juch's stream," since Juch is also a surname (records here: https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=juch).
Again, I must stress this is all speculation, besides the fact that Juchau is associated with the Huguenots and comes from France.
The meaning of this name is obscure, so please note the following is personal speculation:
Seeing the spelling of the name and pronunciation, my first thought was German (though the pronunciation would be anglicized). Noted on the Huguenots' website, Tom Juchau was referred to as "the Swiss" as his name was thought to be Swiss. I find this interesting as he is the son of a French immigrant, and according to French orthography the name would be pronounced zhuy-SHOH (this could simply be due to self-anglicization or the ignorance of others, however). Upon further research, the Huguenots themselves are from eastern France (Alsace, Moselle, and Montbéliard) near the border with Switzerland and Germany, and their name is believed to have Swiss or German origins. Given the Juchaus' affiliation with the family, I wondered if their name could be Swiss German. While Tom Juchau's father emigrated from Deux-Sèvres (in western France), this could have been the result of earlier internal migration due to the contemporary persecution of the Huguenots.
Assuming the above is true, I looked for places named Juchau but could not find any. But, searching for places named Juch, I got several hits from the GNS database (available here: https://geonames.nga.mil/geonames/GeographicNamesSearch/), all in Switzerland. Searching for definitions of juch I found it to be an interjection equivalent to "yay" or "hooray." However, I think it is far more likely to be an Alemannic German form of Joch, meaning "ridge; mountain pass; col." As for the suffix -au, it is a common place name element from Old High German ouwa, meaning "stream; island; marsh." Thus, I think it is plausible that Juchau originates from Switzerland and means "stream of the ridge/pass," or something like that. Or "Juch's stream," since Juch is also a surname (records here: https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=juch).
Again, I must stress this is all speculation, besides the fact that Juchau is associated with the Huguenots and comes from France.
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