French Surnames of Frankish Origin

[Psychonaut]

I'm interested in compiling a list of modern French surnames are are of Frankish origin. Here are a few that I've found so far:

Hébert: according to The Franks by Edward James (p. 31) Herbert (and thus the more modern Hébert) are descended from the Old Frankish Charibert, with Chari (or Hari) meaning "army" and Bert (or Bercht) meaning "bright."
Source (http://www.acadian-cajun.com/heborig.htm)

LeBlanc: stems from the Old French Blanc meaning "white" or "shining." This, in turn, comes from the Frankish Blank, meaning "white" or "gleaming."
Source (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=blank&searchmode=none)

LeBrun: is derived from the Proto-Germanic *Brunaz, and the Frankish form was most likely Brun as well.
Source (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=brown&searchmode=none)

Landry: this name may be "the second oldest [sur]name in France." It originally stems from the Germanic words Land and Ric ("king" or "powerful").
Source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landry)

Richard: is very similar to the Old High German name Rocohard and is descended from the Proto-Germanic *rik- "ruler" and *harthu "hard."
Source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard)

Do any of you know of any others?

[Psychonaut]

A few new additions...

Roberge: was originally a Germanic personal name stemming from the roots Hrod "renown" and Bergo "protection." The Old Frankish version was probably something like Radeburg.
Source (http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Roberge-family-history.ashx)

Robert: is derived from the roots Hrod "renown" and Bercht "bright." The Old Frankish version was most likely Rodbert.
Source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert)

Hervé: is directly derived from the Old Frankish Charivius.
Source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herv%C3%A9)

Guichard: is derived from the Germanic form Wighard, meaning "war" + "hard."
Source (http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=Guichard)

Bosson: the earliest attested form is Bodecon from the 16th century, but the original Frankish form may have been Bandeson. The name stems from two Frankish words Bois "woods" or "forest" and Songe "a dream."
Source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bossong)

[Arundel]

French names
Although more than 90% of my ancestors came from England, my sir name is Sisson. It has been spelled just like that since they came to America in the 1600's. We think it is French. There is a town named Soissons, and one named Sissonae in France 'if that is correct information.' I had a french minister, and he always called me the little 'french girl', when most of our region are of german descent and show it. We think our first Sisson came from France to England with William the Conqueror. What do you think, I would like very much to know.

[Psychonaut]

French names
Although more than 90% of my ancestors came from England, my sir name is Sisson. It has been spelled just like that since they came to America in the 1600's. We think it is French. There is a town named Soissons, and one named Sissonae in France 'if that is correct information.' I had a french minister, and he always called me the little 'french girl', when most of our region are of german descent and show it. We think our first Sisson came from France to England with William the Conqueror. What do you think, I would like very much to know.

It looks like Sisson is a Latin based name:


Sisson Name Meaning and History
Metronymic from the medieval female personal name Siss, Ciss, short for Sisley, Cecilie (see Sisley), or possibly from a pet form of Sisley (with the old French diminutive suffix -on).
Source (http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Sisson-name-meaning.ashx)


Sisley Name Meaning and History
English: from the medieval female personal name Sisley, Cecilie (Latin Caecilia, feminine form of the Roman family name Caecilius, originally a derivative of caecus ‘blind’). This was the name of a Roman virgin martyr of the 2nd or 3rd century, who came to be regarded as the patron saint of music.
Source (http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Sisley-name-meaning.ashx)

[Luern]

From my own family tree: Geoffroy, Douard

Yet that doesn't mean that my ancestors were of Germanic origin, just that their first-names (which eventually became family names and passed on next generations) were. After Germanic invasions, Germanic names would be trendy in Gaul among the natives.

[Gooding]

From my own (occassionally repeated) family tree: Pecot,Armelin,Perret,Prejean, Pellerin,Bossier,Sigur,LaVergne. That was a feature of Louisiana life back in the day..the genepool was rather small until my great grandmother moved to D.C..I don't know how many of them were Frankish..

[Luern]

From my own (occassionally repeated) family tree: Pecot,Armelin,Perret,Prejean, Pellerin,Bossier,Sigur,LaVergne. That was a feature of Louisiana life back in the day..the genepool was rather small until my great grandmother moved to D.C..I don't know how many of them were Frankish..

Armelin: uncertain Armella (latin "anima" = soul ?)
Bossier: dike?
Lavergne: common in SW France. From occitan vèrn, vèrnhe; meaning alder ("aulne" in French).
Pécot: from old French "Pec", meaning something like fool.
Pellerin: a pilgrim (pélerin), might be a toponym.
Perret: a diminutive of Pierre (Peter).
Préjean: breton Prigent (good looking)

Sigur: sounds Icelandic or something

[Gooding]

Icelandic?? LOL, I have heard others offer a possible Scandinavian connection, but I'm rather of the opionion that it's somehow Lorrain Roman as opposed to Lorrain Franconian..
ID: I290
Name: Laurent Pierre Francois Sigur
Sex: M
Birth: in Pont-a-Mousson, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France
Death: 16 NOV 1836 in Charenton, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana
Occupation: Planter
Education: Basic
Religion: Roman Catholic
Change Date: 30 NOV 2006




Father: Laurent Sigur b: 1734 in Pont-a-Mousson, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France
Mother: Anne Roche b: 1736 in Lay Saint-Christophe, Metz, Lorraine

Marriage 1 Emelie Pellerin b: 1766 in Attakapas, St. Martin Parish, Louisiana
Married: 13 NOV 1788 in Saint Martin de Tours, St. Martinville, Louisiana
Children
Charles Laurent Sigur b: 16 DEC 1789 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Marie Claire Amelie Felicite Sigur b: 22 NOV 1792 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Marie Emilie Francoise Adele Sigur b: 1 APR 1794 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Marie Anne Vegas Amenaide Sigur b: 30 AUG 1797 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Marie Ephigene Anne Heloise Sigur b: 6 JAN 1799 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Edouard Charles Sigur b: 1 JUN 1800 in New Iberia, Iberville Parish, Louisiana
Alexandre Theodore Sigur b: 3 DEC 1801 in New Iberia, Iberville Parish, Louisiana
Arsile Treville Sigur b: 1 JUL 1803 in New Iberia, Iberville Parish, Louisiana
Theodore Numa Sigur b: 22 AUG 1808 in New Iberia, Iberville Parish, Louisiana
Achille Sigur b: 1805 in New Iberia, Iberville Parish, Louisiana

[SwordoftheVistula]

What about 'Gosselin' (like the stupid TV couple)? There were a lot of 'Goslins' where I grew up, always thought of it as a normal German name, 'Gosselin' is probably the French version of that.

[Psychonaut]

What about 'Gosselin' (like the stupid TV couple)? There were a lot of 'Goslins' where I grew up, always thought of it as a normal German name, 'Gosselin' is probably the French version of that.

I don't know for sure, but I'd wager it's a Frankish name, since it's original form is distributed in both Germany and France.


Gosselin
French: from a pet form of the Old French personal name Gosse
Source (http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Gosselin-name-meaning.ashx)


Gosse
English (of Norman origin), French, and North German: from the Old French personal name Gosse, representing the Germanic personal name Gozzo, a short form of the various compound names beginning god ‘good’ or god, got ‘god’.
Source (http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Gosse-name-meaning.ashx)

[Luern]

Icelandic?? LOL, I have heard others offer a possible Scandinavian connection, but I'm rather of the opionion that it's somehow Lorrain Roman as opposed to Lorrain Franconian..
ID: I290
Name: Laurent Pierre Francois Sigur
Sex: M
Birth: in Pont-a-Mousson, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France
Death: 16 NOV 1836 in Charenton, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana
Occupation: Planter
Education: Basic
Religion: Roman Catholic
Change Date: 30 NOV 2006


From Pont, ok... Well, my bad. That wouldn't have been so crazy to imagine, though.

Anyway, this one is rare, never heard of it before, not even in Lorraine (it doesn't show in the phone book, btw). I couldn't find the meaning of it either.

While it doesn't seem to exist in Lorraine (anymore?), it appears in SW (http://www.geopatronyme.com/cgi-bin/carte/nomcarte.cgi?numero=0692950&periode=1) France. I checked the phone book and there were 9 occurrences for this name in Midi Pyrénées.

[SwordoftheVistula]

According to this site it is southern French/Spanish, and might share origin with the word 'secure'

http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Segur-name-meaning.ashx
Segur
Southern French (Ségur) and Catalan: habitational name from any of various minor places so called, from Catalan segur or from Provençal (a dialect of Occitan) ségur ‘safe’, ‘well-defended’.

[Gooding]

Judging from the fact that my Pecot ancestors in Haiti all came from "the Gascon Quarter", despite the fact that Francois came from Les Touches in France tells me that the towns where my ancestors came from might not necessarily have been where their families ultimately came from.Some of the given names of the Sigur children as well as the Pecots seem to hint at a strong Gascon identity. That's nothing more than an opinion on my part, though..my cousin Alec would probably be able to tell you a lot more.




Marie Rose Angelique Desiree Pecot b: 12 MAY 1777 in Quartier Gascogne, Saint Louis de Mirebalais, Saint Domingue (Haiti) I'm descended from her through my great-great grandmother, Amelie Armelin.


Charles Jean Ermine Theodore Pecot b: 11 OCT 1782 in Saint Louis de Mirebalais, Saint Domingue (Haiti) I'm descended from him through my great great grandfather, Alexandre Theodore Pecot.


ID: I220
Name: Francois Pecot
Sex: M
Birth: ABT 1740 in Les Touches, Nantes, France
Death: ABT 1795 in Saint Louis de Mirebalais, Saint Domingue (Haiti)
Occupation: Planter
Education: Basic
Religion: Roman Catholic
Note:

No evidence suggests Francois made it off the island of Saint Domingue when his wife and children fled the Revolution for Jamaica. Several sources indicate he was killed by rebel slaves - beheaded with his oldest son, Luc. No records, however, have been found documenting when and where Francois died.
Change Date: 4 DEC 2006




Father: Pierre Pecot
Mother: Marie Estere

Marriage 1 Marie Rosalie Prejean b: 21 FEB 1741 in Port Royal, Acadie (Nova Scotia, Canada)
Married: 8 JAN 1768 in Saint Louis de Mirebalais, Saint Domingue (Haiti)
Children
Francois David Pecot b: 16 OCT 1769 in Quartier Gascogne, Saint Louis de Mirebalais, Saint Domingue (Haiti)
Marie Pecot b: 1771 in Quartier Gascogne, Saint Louis de Mirebalais, Saint Domingue (Haiti)
Louis Francois (Luc) Pecot b: 12 JAN 1774 in Quartier Gascogne, Saint Louis de Mirebalais, Saint Domingue (Haiti)
Jean Jacques Joseph Pecot b: 25 DEC 1775 in Quartier Gascogne, Saint Louis de Mirebalais, Saint Domingue (Haiti)
Marie Rose Angelique Desiree Pecot b: 12 MAY 1777 in Quartier Gascogne, Saint Louis de Mirebalais, Saint Domingue (Haiti)
Marie Antoinette Pecot b: 15 JUN 1778 in Gascogne Quartier, Saint Louis de Mirebalais, Saint Domingue (Haiti)
Charles Jean Ermine Theodore Pecot b: 11 OCT 1782 in Saint Louis de Mirebalais, Saint Domingue (Haiti)
Marie Louise Pecot b: 16 APR 1783 in Gascogne Quartier, Saint Louis de Mirebalais, Saint Domingue (Haiti)
Marie Anne Pecot b: 23 FEB 1787 in Saint Louis de Mirebalais, Saint Domingue (Haiti)



http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=alexpecot&id=I220

[Gooding]

It seems I've got Catalan ancestry on more than one front, besides the Sigurs..http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Pujol-name-meaning.ashx

Catalan: topographic name for someone who lived at a high place, from pujol, a diminutive of puig ‘hill’, ‘hillock’ (Latin podiolum), or habitational name from any of the numerous places in Catalonia named with this word (see Puig).

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=alexpecot&id=I514
ID: I514
Name: Jean Pujole
Sex: M
Birth: 1694 in Lerac, Bordeaux, France
Death: 14 AUG 1766
Change Date: 4 DEC 2006




Marriage 1 Anne Barbe Bailly b: 1701
Married:
Children
Marie Anne Pujole b: 1734 in Cannes Brulees, Louisiana

Marie Anne married Alphonse Perret whose family was from Grenoble.

Now my question is: What the hell is a Catalan???

[SwordoftheVistula]

Now my question is: What the hell is a Catalan???

It's a border region on the Spanish/French border

[Gooding]

It's a border region on the Spanish/French border

Hey,thanks, Sword of the Vistula..I found out a little more about them here:
http://www.everyculture.com/Europe/Catalans-Pa-sos-Catalans.html

[Loyalist]

I've found myself digging through my French ancestry for the past few days, so it seems now is as good a time as any to inquire about their origins. I'm descended from both Huguenots who married into Dutch families and settled in New Netherland in the 17th century, and Quebecois who converted to Presbyterianism and married into my Scottish line. All lines that are traceable to France have originated in Normandy, Brittany, and Wallonia.

Here's a list of the names appearing down the line, any help would be greatly appreciated. :)

de la Roche / de Roche (my last French-born ancestor, a Huguenot woman who fled to Switzerland, married a Swiss-German man, and settled in Pennsylvania in the late 18th century).

Lamarsh / Lamarche

Cabot

Le Roy (later Anglicized to "Larroway")

Uzille / Usille / Usilie (Walloon)

Jacquet

Plante / Laplante

Deschalets (sp?)

There's a few more which I can't recall, or the spelling is so varied it wouldn't be possible to say. I'm also interested to know if the de la / de preposition for my ancestress denotes nobility, or if it's just to aid her topographic surname as I fear. ;)

[Gooding]

De La Roche, according to ancestry.com means someone from a rocky crag, maybe from a mountaonous area of France.

http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Roche-name-meaning.ashx

Lamarche seems to be a variant of Lamarque..someone who lived near a border. http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Lamarque-name-meaning.ashx

Cabot seems to originate from Occitania
http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Cabot-name-meaning.ashx

Le Roy means someone with a regal bearing
http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Leroy-name-meaning.ashx

Uzille? No meaning given, sorry, man.:(

Jacquet I reckon means Jack
http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Jacquet-family-history.ashx

Laplante was someone who lived near a nursery.
http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Laplante-family-history.ashx

Deschalets? From Chalets? French Swiss, maybe?

[Luern]

I'm also interested to know if the de la / de preposition for my ancestress denotes nobility, or if it's just to aid her topographic surname as I fear. ;)

Indeed, it doesn't.


Cabot


Cabot Nom surtout fréquent à Banyuls-sur-Mer. C'est un sobriquet formé sur le catalan cap (= tête), avec le suffixe -ot qui semble avoir ici une valeur augmentative. Donc, celui qui a une grosse tête.

Basically, someone with a big head.

[Gooding]

Seems we both have distant Catalan connections, Loyalist :).

[Grey]

My mother's family have an interesting surname. I can't find much on it from France at all: Lamartiniere.

By the way, Psychonaut, you don't happen to have any Bordelon in you, do you? I only ask because everyone from my mother's parish seems to and I wonder if that's common in the rest of the state.

[Psychonaut]

My mother's family have an interesting surname. I can't find much on it from France at all: Lamartiniere.

Sorry, but I can't find much about this one either except that it's a Latin derived name, stemming from the God Mars. :shrug:


By the way, Psychonaut, you don't happen to have any Bordelon in you, do you? I only ask because everyone from my mother's parish seems to and I wonder if that's common in the rest of the state.

I just did a search of my tree and don't see any Bordelons or anything that looks like an archaic spelling of it either. Ancestry.com says (http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Bordelon-name-meaning.ashx):


Bordelon
Southern French: from a diminutive of Borde.

I'm guessing that they're talking about this region (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordes,_Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es-Atlantiques) right here, which is not one that I have very many ancestors from at all.

And by the way, welcome to the Apricity. :wave:

[Grey]

Sorry, but I can't find much about this one either except that it's a Latin derived name, stemming from the God Mars. :shrug:

Yeah, that's about all I've gotten on it. Also that there's a school of the same name in Calcutta and that the family owned slaves in Haiti.



I just did a search of my tree and don't see any Bordelons or anything that looks like an archaic spelling of it either. Ancestry.com says (http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Bordelon-name-meaning.ashx):

Alright, just curious.



And by the way, welcome to the Apricity. :wave:

Thanks.

[Luern]

Bordelon (=petit bordel): small log cabin, small farm. Family name found in Loiret.

Lamartinière (http://maps.google.fr/maps?hl=fr&source=hp&q=Lamartiniere&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl)

[MagnaLaurentia]

Armelin: uncertain Armella (latin "anima" = soul ?)

Hum... maybe not...

Hamelin: Diminutive of Hamel, which means village, but rather personal name of Germanic origin, variant Amelin

Here a good siteweb for people who want to find the meaning and the origin of the family name of their French ancestors (the website is in French) : http://jeantosti.com/noms/a1.htm

[Grey]

An obvious but absent member of this list is Bernard, and also I think Veade/Viede (unless it's yet another non-French "Cajun" name like Melançon).

[Psychonaut]

An obvious but absent member of this list is Bernard, and also I think Veade/Viede (unless it's yet another non-French "Cajun" name like Melançon).

Given that its frequency is high in France as well as Acadiana makes me think that it's not one of the made up names like Melancon or my surname. The distribution in Germany, Francy, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia would also seem to preclude that it's a Norman name, so, yeah, Frankish seems like the only option.