BEAUCHÊNE FrenchFrom French place names derived from
beau "beautiful" and
chêne "oak".
BEAUFORT FrenchFrom various French place names derived from
beau "beautiful" and
fort "strong place, fortress".
BEAULIEU FrenchFrom various French place names derived from
beau "beautiful" and
lieu "place".
BLANC FrenchMeans
"white" in French. The name referred to a person who was pale, or whose hair was blond.
BOIVIN FrenchNickname for a wine drinker, from Old French
boi "to drink" and
vin "wine".
BONFILS FrenchDerived from Old French
bon fils meaning
"good son".
BONHEUR FrenchFrom Old French
bonne heure meaning
"good time" or
"lucky".
BORDE FrenchFrom Frankish
bord meaning
"board, plank". This name belonged to a person who lived in a house made of planks.
BRISBOIS FrenchReferred to a person who cleared land, from Old French
briser "to cut" and
bois "forest".
BUREAU FrenchFrom Old French
burel, diminutive of
bure, a type of woolen cloth. It may have originated as a nickname for a person who dressed in the material or as an occupational name for someone who worked with it.
CHAPLIN English, FrenchOccupational name for a chaplin, or perhaps for the servant of one, from Middle English, Old French
chapelain. A famous bearer was the British comic actor Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977).
CHAPUT FrenchFrom a diminutive of the Old French word
chape meaning
"cloak, hood". The name referred to a person who made, sold or often wore cloaks.
CHARBONNEAU FrenchDerived from a diminutive form of French
charbon "charcoal", a nickname for a person with black hair or a dark complexion.
CHARRON FrenchMeant
"cart" in Old French, used to denote a carter or a cartwright.
CHASTAIN FrenchFrom Old French
castan "chestnut tree" (Latin
castanea), a name for someone who lived near a particular chestnut tree, or possibly a nickname for someone with chestnut-coloured hair.
CHEVALIER FrenchFrom a nickname derived from French
chevalier meaning
"knight", itself from
cheval meaning "horse", ultimately from Latin
caballus.
CHEVROLET FrenchFrom a diminutive of
chèvre meaning
"goat", indicating a person who cultivated goats.
CLOUTIER FrenchDerived from French
clou meaning
"nail", referring to someone who made or sold nails.
COMTOIS FrenchIndicated a person from Franche-Comté, a province in eastern France, which translates to "free county".
D'ARAMITZ FrenchOriginally denoted one who came from Aramits, the name of a town in the French Pyrenees that is possibly derived from Basque
haran meaning "valley".
DEGARMO FrenchAmericanized form of French
de Garmeaux, which may derive from a place called Garmeaux in Normandy.
DELACROIX FrenchMeans
"of the cross" in French. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads.
DESROSIERS FrenchMeans
"from the rose bushes", from French
rosier "rose bush". It probably referred to a person who lived close to, or cared for a rose garden.
DROIT FrenchMeans
"right, straight" in French, a nickname for an upright person.
DUBOIS FrenchMeans
"from the forest", from French
bois "forest".
DUFORT FrenchMeans
"from the fort", from French
fort "stronghold".
DUFOUR FrenchOccupational name for a baker, from French
four "oven".
DUMONT FrenchMeans
"from the mountain", from French
mont "mountain".
DUPONT FrenchMeans
"from the bridge", from French
pont "bridge".
DURAND French, EnglishFrom Old French
durant meaning
"enduring", ultimately from Latin
durans. This was a nickname for a stubborn person.
FABRE FrenchDerived from Latin
faber meaning
"blacksmith".
FAUCHER FrenchOccupational name meaning
"mower" in French, ultimately from Latin
falx meaning "sickle, scythe".
FAVAGER FrenchPossibly indicated a person from the town of Faverges in eastern France, derived from Old French
faverge meaning "forge".
FAY French, EnglishReferred to a person who came from various places named Fay or Faye in northern France, derived from Old French
fau "beech tree", from Latin
fagus.
FÈVRE FrenchOccupational name meaning
"blacksmith" in Old French, derived from Latin
faber.
FONTAINE FrenchDerived from Old French
fontane meaning
"well, fountain", a derivative of Latin
fons.
FOREST English, FrenchOriginally belonged to a person who lived near or in a forest. It was probably originally derived, via Old French
forest, from Latin
forestam (silva) meaning "outer (wood)".
FORTIER FrenchDerived from Old French
fort "stronghold", indicating a person who lived near or worked at such a place.
FOURNIER FrenchOccupational name for a baker, from French
fourneau meaning
"oven".
GAGE French, EnglishOccupational name derived either from Old French
jauge "measure" (a name for an assayer) or
gage "pledge, payment" (a name for a moneylender). Both words were ultimately of Frankish origin.
GAGNEUX FrenchDerived from Old French
gagnier meaning
"to farm, to cultivate".
GAGNON FrenchDerived from old French
gagnon "guard dog". The name most likely originated as a nickname for an aggressive or cruel person.
GRANGER English, FrenchMeans
"farm bailiff" from Old French
grangier, ultimately from Latin
granum meaning "grain". It is borne in the Harry Potter novels by Harry's friend Hermione Granger.
GROS FrenchMeans
"thick, fat, big" in French, from Late Latin
grossus, possibly of Germanic origin.
HARDY English, FrenchFrom Old French and Middle English
hardi meaning
"bold, daring, hardy", of Germanic origin.
JANVIER FrenchEither from the given name
JANVIER or the French word
janvier meaning
"January", perhaps indicating a person who was baptized in that month.
JOLY FrenchFrom Old French
joli meaning
"happy, jolly, pretty".
LACHANCE FrenchMeans
"chance, luck" in French, a nickname for a lucky person.
LACHAPELLE FrenchMeans
"the chapel" in French, most likely used to denote a person who lived by a church or a chapel.
LACROIX FrenchMeans
"the cross" in French. It denoted one who lived near a cross symbol or near a crossroads.
LAMAR French, EnglishOriginally from a place name in Normandy, derived from Old French
la mare meaning "the pool".
LANE (2) FrenchDerived from a French word meaning
"wool", designating one who worked in the wool trade.
LAPOINTE FrenchMeans
"the point (of a lance)" in French, possibly a nickname for a soldier.
LAVIGNE FrenchMeans
"the vineyard" in French, referring to a person who lived close to a vineyard, or was from the town of Lavigny.
LAVOIE FrenchMeans
"the road, the lane" in French, a name for someone who lived close to a road.
LEBEAU FrenchNickname for a handsome person, from French
le "the" and
beau "beautiful, handsome".
LEBLANC FrenchMeans
"the white", from French
blanc "white". The name referred to a person who was pale or whose hair was blond.
LEBRUN FrenchFrom a nickname meaning
"the brown", from French
brun "brown".
LÉCUYER FrenchFrom French
écuyer meaning
"squire, shield-bearer".
LEFÈVRE FrenchOccupational name meaning
"blacksmith" in Old French, derived from Latin
faber.
LEMAIRE FrenchMeans
"the mayor" in French. It was a title given to a town official, or else a nickname for someone who was pompous and officious.
LÉMIEUX FrenchDerived from the place name
Leymieux, a town in the Rhône-Alpes region of France.
LEROUX FrenchMeans
"the red", from Old French
ros "red". This was a nickname for a person with red hair.
LYON (1) English, FrenchOriginally denoted a person from the city of Lyon in central France, originally Latin
Lugdunum, of Gaulish origin meaning "hill fort of
LUGUS". It could also denote a person from the small town of Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy.
MARTEL (2) French, EnglishNickname for a smith, derived from Old French
martel "hammer", ultimately from Late Latin
martellus.
MONET FrenchDerived from either of the given names
HAMON or
EDMOND. A famous bearer was the French impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926).
NEUVILLE FrenchFrom the names of various French towns meaning "new town".
NOEL French, EnglishEither from the given name
NOËL, or else derived directly from Old French
noel "Christmas" and given to a person who had a particular connection with the holiday.
PAGE English, FrenchOccupational name meaning
"servant, page". It is ultimately derived (via Old French and Italian) from Greek
παιδίον (paidion) meaning "little boy".
PAQUET (1) FrenchOccupational name for a firewood gatherer, from Old French
pacquet "bundle".
PARENT English, FrenchDerived from Old French
parent meaning either
"notable" (from Latin
pārēre meaning "to be apparent") or
"parent" (from Latin
parere meaning "to produce, to give birth").
PÉRIGORD FrenchFrom the name of a region in southern France, possibly of Gaulish origin.
PETIT French, Catalan, EnglishMeans
"small, little" derived from Old French and Catalan
petit. It was perhaps used for a short, small person or to denote the younger of two individuals.
PLAMONDON FrenchDerived from French
plat "flat" and
mont "mountain", referring to someone who lived near a flat-topped mountain.
PLOURDE FrenchPossibly derived from French
palourde, a type of a shellfish.
POIRIER FrenchMeans
"pear tree" in French, originally a nickname for someone who lived close to such a tree.
PORCHER English, FrenchMeans
"swineherd" from Old French and Middle English
porchier, from Latin
porcus "pig".
POULIN FrenchDerived from Old French
poule meaning
"chicken". It was most likely used to denote a person who raised or sold poultry.
PROULX FrenchDerived from Old French
preu meaning
"valiant, brave".
RAYNE English, FrenchDerived from a Germanic name that was short for longer names beginning with the element
ragin meaning "advice, counsel".
REY (1) English, Spanish, French, CatalanMeans
"king" in Old French, Spanish and Catalan, ultimately from Latin
rex (genitive
regis), perhaps originally denoting someone who acted like a king.
RICHELIEU FrenchFrom the name of the town of Richelieu, derived from French
riche "wealthy" and
lieu "place". The historic figure Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642), born Armand du Plessis, was so-called because he became the first Duke of Richelieu. He appears in Alexander Dumas' novel
The Three Musketeers (1844).
ROSE (1) English, French, German, JewishMeans
"rose" from Middle English, Old French and Middle High German
rose, all from Latin
rosa. All denote a person of a rosy complexion or a person who lived in an area abundant with roses. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental, from Yiddish
רויז (roiz).
ROUSSEAU FrenchDiminutive of
ROUX. A famous bearer was the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) whose ideas influenced the French Revolution.
ROUX FrenchDerived from Old French
ros meaning
"red", from Latin
russus, a nickname for a red-haired person.
ROYER FrenchFrom French
roue meaning
"wheel", ultimately from Latin
rota, an occupational name for a wheelwright.
SAUVETERRE FrenchFrom the name of various towns in France, derived from French
sauve "safe" and
terre "land".
SAVATIER FrenchFrom Old French
savatier "shoemaker", derived from
savate "shoe", of uncertain ultimate origin.
SEGAL (2) FrenchOccupational name for a grower or seller of rye, from Old French, from Latin
secale "rye".
SERGEANT English, FrenchOccupational name derived from Old French
sergent meaning
"servant", ultimately from Latin
servire "to serve".
SOUCY FrenchOriginally denoted someone from French towns by this name in Aisne or Yonne, both derived from the Latin name
Suciacum.