SarazenFrench From a medieval French nickname for a swarthy person, or for someone who had gone on a Crusade (from Old French sarrazin "Saracen"). It was borne by American golfer Gene Sarazen (1902-99), original name Eugene Saraceni.
SardEnglish, French, Spanish, Italian In the book surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary by Henry Harrison and Gyda (Pulling) Harrison 1912 - Reprinted 1996. The Sard surname (which has been in England, Italy and Europe for a long time) is defined thus on page 136.... [more]
SarrazinFrench Means "Saracen" in Old French, a name used to refer to Arab Muslims in the Middle Ages. It was probably used as a nickname for an unruly person, a person with a dark complexion, or for someone who had taken part in a Crusade.
Sauve'French Sauve' from France to Canada. Changed probably due to an "a" and an "o" confusion in cursive. My granfather's was typo-ed on WW II old men's sign up in MA. or RI, USA.
SavantFrench Nickname from savant ‘learned’, a nickname for a university graduate or a particularly knowledgeable person.
SavardFrench Either from Old French savart meaning "wasteland" or the Germanic elements sab of uncertain meaning and hard meaning "brave, hardy".
SavignacFrench Habitational name for someone from various communes by this name in France.
SchaalGerman, Dutch, French, Jewish Either a nickname for a braggart or a market crier, (derived from Middle High German schal meaning "noise, bragging"), an occupational name for someone who made dishes for scales and vessels for drinking, (from Middle Low German and Dutch schale "dish"), a habitational name from Schaala in Thuringia or the Schaalsee lake near Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, or a topographic name for someone living on marshy land, (from Dutch schald "shallow")... [more]
SénécalFrench status name for a seneschal an official in a large household who was responsible for overseeing day-to-day domestic arrangements from Old French seneschal (of ancient Germanic origin composed of the elements sini "old" and scalc "servant")... [more]
SeydouxFrench, French (Swiss), Occitan Derived from the Germanic names Sedulius, Sedulfus or Segedolfus. Another theory suggests Occitan roots; it might be an occupational name for someone who worked with silk, derived from Occitan sedós meaning "silky, soft"... [more]
SilhouetteFrench (Rare) Famous bearers include Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French author and politician. He was a French Ancien Régime Controller-General of Finances under Louis XV.
SoliéFrench Notable bearers include French cellist Jean-Pierre Solié, who was originally named Jean-Pierre Soulier, possibly making it a variant of Soulier.
St AubinFrench Either a habitational name from any of several places in France called Saint-Aubin (from the dedication of their churches to Saint Albinus), or else a nickname with Saint as an (ironic) prefix to the personal name or surname Aubin.
St-gelaisFrench (Quebec) From the French place name Saint-Gelais which was allegedly named for a 5th-century bishop of Poitiers. The name Gelais is a variant of Gélase.
SubercaseauxFrench, Spanish (Latin American) The Subercaseaux family is a Chilean family of French descent. They became well known during the 19th century due to their wealth amassed in Norte Chico. They have played a very significant role in Chilean mining, winemaking, politics and arts.
SullyFrench, Haitian Creole from any of the various places called Sully for example in Calvados Loiret Saone-et-Loire and Oise. The first of these is recorded in 1180 as Silleium from the Gallo-Roman personal name Silius or Cilius and the Latin locative element acum... [more]
TallantEnglish (British, ?), Norman, Irish English (of Norman origin) occupational name for a tailor or nickname for a good swordsman, from taillant ‘cutting’, present participle of Old French tailler ‘to cut’ (Late Latin taliare, from talea ‘(plant) cutting’)... [more]
TallonEnglish, Irish, Norman, French English and Irish (of Norman origin), and French from a Germanic personal name derived from tal ‘destroy’, either as a short form of a compound name with this first element (compare Talbot) or as an independent byname... [more]
TalonEnglish, French Derived from Old French talon "heel", denoting a person with a deformity or a swift person. It could also be a diminutive form of given names Talbot and Talleyrand.
TanguayFrench, English From a personal name, a contraction of Tanneguy, from Breton tan meaning 'fire', and ki meaning 'dog', which was the name of a 6-th century Christian saint associated with Paul Aurelian.
TaponFrench From the old French word tapon, meaning "cork". Hence this surname was first given to corks makers.
TardifFrench, French (Quebec) From Latin tardivus, "slow". Given its unusually frequency as a family name and derivatives like Tardieu or Tardivel, it may have been a medieval given name.
TautouFrench, Occitan Derived from French tatou meaning "armadillo". It may have originally been given to a person who resembled an armadillo in some way. A famous bearer is the French actress and model Audrey Tautou (1976-).
TawneyEnglish, Norman Habitational name from either of two places, Saint-Aubin-du-Thennay or Saint-Jean-du-Thennay, in Eure, Normandy, both so named from an uncertain first element (possibly a Gallo-Roman personal name or the Gaulish word tann ‘oak’, ‘holly’) + the locative suffix -acum.
TempleEnglish, French Occupational name or habitational name for someone who was employed at or lived near one of the houses ("temples") maintained by the Knights Templar, a crusading order so named because they claimed to occupy in Jerusalem the site of the old temple (Middle English, Old French temple, Latin templum)... [more]
TemplierFrench French cognate and variant of Temple, given to someone who was a member of the Templar order.
TerrienFrench Topographic name from an adjectival derivative of terre "land", denoting someone who lived and worked on the land, i.e. a peasant. It is Americanized frequently as Landers, and occasionally as Farmer.
TessierFrench Occupational Name For A Weaver, From Old French Tissier (From Late Latin Texarius, A Derivative Of Texere ‘To Weave’). It Is Also Found In England As A Surname Of Huguenot Origin. Compare Tacey.
TheriaultFrench (Rare) Possibly from the Greek "therion" which means a beast of a nondescript nature.
TherouxFrench (Quebec) Southern French (Théroux): of uncertain origin; perhaps a topographic name for someone living by "the wells", from a plural variant of Occitan théron "well".
ToupinFrench, Breton, Norman nickname from Old French toupin "spinning-top". in rare instances in the south probably from Old Occitan toupin "small earthenware pot" used as a metonymic occupational name for a potter.
TourvilleFrench The name Tourville is a very old, and in one case, very famous name. One of the Marshall's of France was named Anne Hilarion de Cotentin de Tourville. This reads: Anne Hilarion of/from Cotentin, Comte (Count) of Tourville... [more]
ToussaintFrench Derived from the given name Toussaint, which in turn is derived from Toussaint, the French name for the Christian feast day All Saints' Day (celebrated on November 1st every year)... [more]
TrezeguetFrench Meaning uncertain, possibly an occupational name derived from Old French treize, treze meaning "thirteen" and guet (itself from Old French gué) meaning "look-out, watch, vigil"... [more]
TrouillefouFrench, Literature From a compound of colloquial French trouille "fear" and fou "mad, crazy". Clopin Trouillefou is a fictional character in the 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo, depicted as a Romani Frenchman who is the King of Truands (the criminals and outcasts of Paris) disguises himself as a beggar begging the audience for money, disrupting Pierre Gringoire's play.
TubervilleFrench Tuberville May be related to the surname Turbeville which is a derivation of the original de’ Turberville which derives from old French Thouberville, ville meaning town, place or residence (from Latin villa).
TurneyEnglish, Norman Habitational name from places in France called Tournai, Tournay, or Tourny. All named with the pre-Roman personal name Turnus and the locative suffix -acum.
VadeboncœurFrench (Quebec) From the French phrase va de bon cœur meaning "go with a good (merry) heart". This was a secondary surname, common among soldiers in colonial French Canada, which has been adopted as a principal surname.
ValléeFrench topographic name for someone who lived in a valley from Old French valee "valley" (from Latin vallis) or a habitational name from (La) Vallée the name of several places in various parts of France... [more]
ValleraFrench French: habitational name from Vallery in Yonne, once a Romano-Gallic estate, recorded in 1218 as Valerianus. The surname is also found in the British Isles and may be of Norman origin, from the same place.
ValletFrench, English French topographic name from a diminutive of Old French val "valley" (see Val ) or a habitational name from (Le) Vallet the name of several places mainly in the northern part of France and French and English occupational name for a manservant from Old French and Middle English vallet "manservant groom".
ValoisFrench topographic name for someone who lived in a valley, or a habitational name from any of the various places called Val(l)ois, or regional name from the district in northern France so called, which was once an independent duchy... [more]
VasseurFrench From Old French vavasour meaning "subvassal", a historical term used to refer to a tenant of a baron or lord who also had tenants under him.
VauxFrench French, English, and Scottish habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Vaux, from the Old French plural of val ‘valley’.
VerdéFrench Possibly a Gallicized form of the Italian and Spanish surname Verde.
VerdierFrench, Norman, English Occupational name for a forester. Derived from Old French verdier (from Late Latin viridarius, a derivative of viridis "green"). Also an occupational name for someone working in a garden or orchard, or a topographic name for someone living near one... [more]
VerdonFrench Habitational name from a place so named, for example in Dordogne, Gironde, and Marne.
VermontFrench (Rare) Derived from french, meaning "green mountain" (Vert, "green"; mont, "mountain").
VerneFrench, English As a French surname refers to someone who lived where alder trees grew. While the English version can mean someone who lived where ferns grew, Verne can also mean a seller of ferns which in medieval times were used in bedding, as floor coverings and as animal feed.
VerneyEnglish, French The surname Verney was first found in Buckinghamshire, England, when they arrived from Vernai, a parish in the arrondissement of Bayeux in Normandy.