Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ROBINET FrenchDerived from the medieval French masculine given name
Robinet, which was a diminutive (as the
-et suffix indicates) of the given name
Robin....
[more] ROCHER FrenchFrom French
roche, meaning "rock'. It indicates a person who worked at a quarry.
ROCKETT FrenchFrom the French "la roche," or "of the rock." Some family histories trace this back to French Hugenots (sp) who immigrated to England in the 1500's from the Normandy region of France.
ROLAND French, German, ScottishFrench, German, English, and Scottish: from a Germanic personal name composed
hrod ‘renown’ +
-nand ‘bold’, assimilated to
-lant ‘land’. (Compare
Rowland)....
[more] ROMAN Catalan, French, Polish, English, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Ukrainian, BelorussianFrom the Latin personal name
Romanus, which originally meant "Roman". This name was borne by several saints, including a 7th-century bishop of Rouen.
ROSIER FrenchFrench for "rose tree" or "rose bush". A common surname in Francophone areas. It is also the name of a fallen angel who was considered the patron demon of tainted love and seduction.
ROSSEAU French, AmericanVariant spelling of
Rousseau. Comes from the Old French word
rous meaning "red", likely a nickname for someone with red hair or a particularly rosy complexion.
ROUGE FrenchNickname for someone with a ruddy complexion.
ROUGEAU FrenchDiminutive of
Rouge, a nickname for someone with a ruddy complexion.
ROZELLE FrenchBeautiful flower from France brought over by an immigrant named Page Rozelle. People said when she said something nice or touched you, good luck would come to you.
RUELAS FrenchA last name common in Mexico which is believed to have derived from the French word ruelle (or Portuguese word ruela) meaning lane or alley.
SABAT FrenchNickname for a noisy, rowdy person, from Middle French
sab(b)at "noise", "racket".
SABOURIN French (Quebec), French (Huguenot)Southern French surname, originally a nickname for a pleasant or amiable person, from a diminutive of
sabor meaning "flavor, taste" (Old French
saveur). The Huguenots brought this surname to England, and from there it may have been introduced to North America.
SAINT English, FrenchNickname for a particularly pious individual, from Middle English, Old French
saint,
seint "holy" (Latin
sanctus "blameless, holy"). The vocabulary word was occasionally used in the Middle Ages as a personal name, especially on the Continent, and this may have given rise to some instances of the surname.
SALE English, FrenchEnglish: from Middle English sale ‘hall’, a topographic name for someone living at a hall or manor house, or a metonymic occupational name for someone employed at a hall or manor house. ...
[more] SANTERRE FrenchHabitational name from a place to the southeast of the Somme river, named with Latin
sana terra "healthy, wholesome land".
SARAZEN FrenchFrom 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.
SARD English, French, Spanish, ItalianIn 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] SAULNIER FrenchIn Middle French (the form of French spoken from 1340 to 1610), it literally means "salt merchant".
SAUVE' FrenchSauve' 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.
SAVARD French (Quebec)Derived from the Old French word
savart meaning "wasteland". It is also formed from the etymological elements
sav and
hard ('hard' meaning "strong"). Notable bearers are Serge and Denis Savard; both Canadian ice hockey players.
SEBERT German, FrenchFrom a German personal name composed of the elements sigi meaning "victory" + berht meaning "bright", "famous".
SOULIER FrenchMetonymic occupational name for a shoemaker, from Old French
soulier ‘shoe’, ‘sandal’....
[more] SOVEREIGN FrenchTranslation of the French surname
Souverain which is derived from Old French
souverain meaning "high place".
SOYER FrenchFrench surname (Alexis Benoist Soyer is a famous bearer).
ST-GELAIS French (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.
STLOUIS FrenchHabitational name from any of several places named with a religious dedication to a St. Louis.
TALBERT English, FrenchFrom a continental Germanic personal name composed of the elements
tal "valley" and
berth "bright".
TALBOT English, NormanDisputed origin, but likely from a Germanic given name composed of the elements
tal "to destroy" and
bod "message". In this form the name is also found in France, taken there apparently by English immigrants; the usual French form is
Talbert.
TALLANT English (British, ?), Norman, IrishEnglish (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] TALLON English, Irish, Norman, FrenchEnglish 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] TANGUAY French, EnglishFrom 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.
TAPON FrenchFrom the old French word
tapon, meaning "cork". Hence this surname was first given to corks makers.
TEMPLE English, FrenchOccupational 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] TERRIEN FrenchTopographic 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.
THEROUX French (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".
TOURVILLE FrenchThe 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] TOUSSAINT FrenchDerived 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). The French name for the feast day is a contraction of French
tous les saints meaning "all (of) the saints"....
[more] TURNEY English, NormanHabitational name from places in France called Tournai, Tournay, or Tourny. All named with the pre-Roman personal name
TURNUS and the locative suffix
-acum.
URBAN English, French, German, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Hungarian, JewishFrom a medieval personal name (Latin Urbanus meaning "city dweller", a derivative of urbs meaning "town", "city").
VADEBONCOEUR French (Quebec)Means "go with a merry heart" in French. This was a secondary surname, common among soldiers, 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 FrenchFrom a medieval nickname for a brave person (from Old French
vaillant "brave, sturdy").
VAL Spanish, FrenchIt means valley. It comes from Britain and then moved to Aragón (Spain).
VAUX FrenchFrench, English, and Scottish habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Vaux, from the Old French plural of
val ‘valley’.
VERDIER French, Norman, EnglishOccupational 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 FrenchHabitational name from a place so named, for example in Dordogne, Gironde, and Marne.
VERGAN French (Huguenot)Family history states that original name was "du Vergau" French Huguenot chased from France to Germany.
VERNE French, EnglishAs 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, FrenchThe surname Verney was first found in Buckinghamshire, England, when they arrived from Vernai, a parish in the arrondissement of Bayeux in Normandy.
VERRET FrenchFrom the French word verre, meaning "glass." Possibly denoting someone who worked with glass.
VERVILLE Frenchvariant of Vervelle, which Morlet derives from a word denoting the metal keeper or ring through which a bolt is secured.
VIDRINE French (Cajun)Vidrines are French Cajuns that live mostly around south central Louisiana, towns and cities like Mamou, Eunice and Ville Platte.
VILLEIN French"Used in medieval England and France. Villein is another term used for the serfs in the lowest classes of the feudal system."
VIOLETTE FrenchPerhaps 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, CatalanSouthern French (Occitan) and Catalan variant of Occitan
Verai and
Veray, nickname from Occitan
verai ‘honest’. From southern France this name spread to northern Catalonia.
VIVIER FrenchDerived from Latin
vivarium, ultimately from Latin
vivus "alive". This name is locational relating to living near a fish pond.
XAVIER English, FrenchDerived 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.