French Submitted Surnames

French names are used in France and other French-speaking regions. See also about French names.
usage
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Vacher French, English
occupational name from Old French vachier "cowherd".
Vachon French
French definition, cattle herder. Vashon English variant. Vaca Spanish.
Vadeboncœur French (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.
Vaillancourt French (Quebec)
Possibly a variant of Valencourt. This is the surname of a noble family who probably lived near Willencourt.
Vaillant French
From a medieval nickname for a brave person (from Old French vaillant "brave, sturdy").
Val Spanish, French
It means valley. It comes from Britain and then moved to Aragón (Spain).
Valade French
Variant of Vallée.
Valère French
From the given name Valère.
Valette French
Topographic name for someone who lived in a small valley, from a diminutive of Old French valee meaning "valley".
Vallée French
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]
Vallera French
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.
Vallet French, 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".
Valmont English, French
Means "Hill of the vale"
Valois French
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]
Vangarde French
"(A soldier) in the leading edge of an army formation"
Vanier French
Variant of Vanier.
Vaniet French
Variant of Vannier.
Vaniez French
Variant of Vannier.
Vannier French
Means "winnower, basket-weaver".
Varon French
From the old high german name Waro short form of given names with the element war "aware,cautious".
Vassar French, English
Name indicating the status of "a vassal or serf" in feudal society.
Vasseur French
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.
Vassie French, English
Meaning "playful or merry" for a cheerful person.
Vauquelin French
From the given name Vauquelin variant of Voclain.
Vaux French
French, English, and Scottish habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Vaux, from the Old French plural of val ‘valley’.
Veilleux French
variant of veilleur, a night guard of nightwatch.
Verdé French
Possibly a Gallicized form of the Italian and Spanish surname Verde.
Verdier French, 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]
Verdon French
Habitational name from a place so named, for example in Dordogne, Gironde, and Marne.
Verdun French, English (British, Rare), Spanish, Catalan
From the various locations in France called Verdun with the Gaulish elements ver vern "alder" and dun "hill fortress" and Verdú in Catalonia, English variant of Verdon
Vergan French (Huguenot)
Family history states that original name was "du Vergau" French Huguenot chased from France to Germany.
Verlaine French, French (Belgian)
Habitational name for someone from Verlaine in the province of Liège, Belgium. Paul Verlaine was a noted bearer.
Vermont French (Rare)
Derived from french, meaning "green mountain" (Vert, "green"; mont, "mountain").
Verne French, 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.
Verney English, French
The surname Verney was first found in Buckinghamshire, England, when they arrived from Vernai, a parish in the arrondissement of Bayeux in Normandy.
Vernier French
Surname for a person who lived near an alder tree. Also a variant of Garnier 1 and Varnier and the eastern French form of Warner.
Véron French
There are three etymologies possible for this surname: which one applies, will vary per Véron family, as the meaning depends on the personal history of the original bearer of their surname.... [more]
Verret French
From the French word verre, meaning "glass." Possibly denoting someone who worked with glass.
Verrier French
An occupational French surname indicating a glassmaker or glassblower, from French verre "glass", derived from Middle French voirre "glass".
Versailles French (Rare)
From the location of Versailles Yvelines near Paris.
Verville French
variant of Vervelle, which Morlet derives from a word denoting the metal keeper or ring through which a bolt is secured.
Vial English, French
from a personal name derived from Latin Vitalis (see Vitale). The name became common in England after the Norman Conquest both in its learned form Vitalis and in the northern French form Viel.
Vianney French
The surname in origin is a variant of Viennet, a diminutive of Vien, a short form of Vivien 1. A famous bearer is Jean-Marie Vianney (1786-1859), a French saint.
Viard French
from the ancient Germanic personal name Withard from the elements widu "wood forest" and hard "hard".
Vicaire French
Means "vicar" in old French From Latin vicarius. French cognitive of Vicario.
Vickery French (Huguenot, Anglicized)
La Vache = having to do with cows, cow fields, cow pastures, cow barns; French Language. ... [more]
Vidrine French (Cajun)
Vidrines are French Cajuns that live mostly around south central Louisiana, towns and cities like Mamou, Eunice and Ville Platte.
Vienne French
From the location of Vienne in France.
Vienneau French
Denoted a person from Vienne, a commune in the Isère department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France, or perhaps derived from the given name Vivien 1.
Vierge French
French form of Virgo.
Vieu French
From a place called Vieu in Ain from Latin vicus "village". French cognitive of Vico.
Vigneron French
Means "vintner" in French from vin "wine" (from Latin vinum).
Villein French
"Used in medieval England and France. Villein is another term used for the serfs in the lowest classes of the feudal system."
Violet English, French
Derived from the given name Violet (English) or a variant of Violette (French).
Violette French
Perhaps a topographic name from a diminutive of viol "path", itself a derivative of vie "way". It is more likely, however, that this name is from the secondary surname Laviolette "the violet (flower)", which was common among soldiers in French Canada.
Viray Occitan, French, Catalan
Southern French (Occitan) and Catalan variant of Occitan Verai and Veray, nickname from Occitan verai ‘honest’... [more]
Vivier French
Derived from Latin vivarium, ultimately from Latin vivus "alive". This name is locational relating to living near a fish pond.
Voisin French
From Old French voisin "neighbor" (Anglo-Norman French veisin) . The application is uncertain; it may either be a nickname for a "good neighbor", or for someone who used this word as a frequent term of address, or it might be a topographic name for someone who lived on a neighboring property... [more]
Vuitton French
Derived from the Old High German word "witu" and the Old English pre 7th century "widu" or "wudu", meaning a wood, and therefore occupational for one living by such a place.
Watteau French
Possibly from French gâteau “cake”, denoting a baker.
Wellspeak French (Anglicized)
Anglicized version of Beauparlant.
Woodlock Irish, French, English
From an Old English personal name, Wudlac, composed of the elements wudu ‘wood’ + lac ‘play’, ‘sport’.
Wryta Norman
Old Norse Men Normans Wryta brothers fought with William The Conqueror at Battle of Hastings onto King Henry VIII granting landed, gentry, coat of arms, baronetcy, and lord title to Sir John Wright 1 of Kelvedon Hall ESsex on 6/20/1509
Xavier English, French
Derived from the Basque place name Etxaberri meaning "the new house". This was the surname of the Jesuit priest Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552). He was a missionary to India, Japan, China, and other areas in East Asia, and he is the patron saint of the Orient and missionaries.
Xavier Portuguese, French, English
Derived from the given name Xavier.
Yatteau French (Acadian)
I was always told it was French
Yott French (Americanized)
Americanized form of French Huot (which is derived from a diminutive of the Old French personal name Hue).
Zavattari Italian, French, Spanish, Romanian
A derivation of the Old French word 'savate'... [more]
Zay French
Frenchified form of German See.