French surnames are family names used in France and other territories historically controlled by France.
Family names appeared in France during the 10th and 11th centuries due to a constantly growing population. Before that, only first names were used, such as Martin, Pierre, or Jean. So quite naturally, what happened when last names became mandatory is that a lot of first names became last names, and they were passed on to the next generation as such. For more on this, see the section about first names used as a proper patronymic category. When the question of family names arose, so did the question of what might be called the categorization of surnames. It has even become, over the centuries, a real subject of study.
Research based on the bearers of the surnames in one’s family can help open new avenues in French genealogy research. This research will allow you to assess whether the surname studied is common, or not, in the locality inhabited by your ancestors. If it is not a common name in the area, you will have to widen the geographical spectrum. And if the name is common, you can always set up a database to link it with the places where your ancestors lived and thus find new cousins.
French naming conventions
Surnames define citizens and residents of France from their births to their deaths. It is therefore a legal identification strongly tied to the person and maybe the most important identification in their lives. A surname will follow the person always, regardless of their civil registration status. Unlike in the United States and the United Kingdom, where it is customary for the newly married woman to take up the surname of her spouse, in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg a married woman keeps her surname from birth for the duration of her life, only adding her married name as an extra if she wants to.[1] For example, a woman named Charlotte Martin may go by “Charlotte Martin, wife PetitJean” in France, whereas if she were American, she might go by “Charlotte PetitJean, born Martin.” It’s especially important to remember this when researching female French ancestors, as some researchers may make the mistake of searching for an ancestor under her husband’s name.
Spelling variants
Surnames and their spellings have changed a lot over the centuries; letters may have been changed (especially consonants) and surnames may have been shortened or lengthened. Also, appendixes may have been added or retracted ( “de”, “de la” (from…). There could be several reasons for those changes:
- Time: Time can deform a lot of things, including surnames, especially since we are talking about centuries and populations moving from one place to another or to one country to another.
- The way the name was recorded: the civil registration officer may have spelled a name given to him orally differently than it was spelled in other places, perhaps because the officer heard it differently.
- The spelling of words wasn’t standardized until the printing press became popular in Western Europe and literacy and education became more widespread in the 18th century and until the second half of the 19th century. Before this, many people were illiterate, especially in the working class, and some didn’t even know how to write their own names, marking their records signatures with crosses in lieu of their names.
These factors led to surnames being spelled in different ways in various records, so it’s very important to remember that the surnames you are looking for could be misspelled in indexes as well as in the records.
A good tip is to create a document on which you note all the possible variants of the surnames you are working on. Another tip is to oralise the surname: say it out loud, with several different accents.
Categories of French surnames
French surnames can be classified into the following broad categories:
French surnames derived from first names
This is the most common category in French surnames; many of the most popular French surnames fit in this category:
French surnames derived from geographical origin
French surnames derived from geographical origins may include a specific country, region, or town that an ancestor was from, like De Rouen, De Paris, Du Mans or a more general local reference, such as:
- Dumont (from the hill)
- Duchateau (from the castle)
- Sablon (from the sands)
- Léglise (from the church)
- Larivière (from the river)
French surnames mentioning places can also refer to certain locations within towns, villages, domains, and houses, such as:
- Laporte ( The Door)
- LaFontaine ( The Fontaine)
- Le Chateau (The Castle)
The prefixes “de” or “du” often indicate a geographical surname.
French surnames expressing a positive or negative quality
Some surnames are derived from descriptions of character traits and personality, such as:
French surnames expressing a physical characteristic
Some surnames express physical characteristics, features or traits. For example, some might express the height or size or may express a color or volume of hair, such as:
Bearing one of these surnames doesn’t necessarily mean one’s ancestor had this trait.
French surnames derived from professions
Another category of surnames is derived from professions, such as:
Foundlings, adopted children, and children without surnames
When a child was found or adopted without a family name, they would typically take the name of the saint of the day they were found or born. For example:
- A child born on July 3 (the feast of St. Thomas) might be called Thomas
- A child born on New Year’s Eve might be called Sylvester
- A child born on August 15 (the Feast of the Assumption of Mary) might be named Marie,
However, this was not always the case. In the past, it was common to give the child a reference to antiquity, such as the name of a Roman emperor or a Greek god, like Nero or Neptune. One shouldn’t assume that a surname such as this indicates a direct connection with Italian nobility or illustrious Greek characters: these names were chosen at random or according to the will of the registrar, who sometimes had an overflowing imagination.
Changing a surname in France
Before July 1, 2022, the procedure for changing a name was long, difficult and only worthwhile in extreme cases. The law has since changed, but there is still a requirement for a legitimate reason to change one’s surname. More information can be found on the official site of the French administration[2]. Since July 1, 2005, both father and mother can choose the exact appellation of a child, whether the paternal or maternal surname, or if they decide that the child can bear both surnames.
Geographical distribution of French surnames
A good way of approaching the study of family names is to see if they belong more particularly to a precise geographical origin such as Brittany, Occitania, the Basque Country, the North, or Provence. But beware, these geographical origins may have occurred several generations before the birth, marriage, or death of your ancestor and may not reflect his or her direct origin at all. It is therefore advisable to refer to the numerous works giving you more information on the historical origin of the family name studied.
See also
Explore more about French surnames
- Historical records from France on MyHeritage
- Ask The Expert – French Records at MyHeritage on the MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- An introduction to Filae: the largest source of French archives on the MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- Ask The Expert – New French Records on MyHeritage on the MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- Spelling Variants & Chutzpah: A Genealogical Case Study from MyHeritage Founder & CEO Gilad Japhet on the MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- I Uncovered My War Veteran Ancestor’s Journey in the French Records on MyHeritage on the MyHeritage blog
- Inside Père Lachaise, the World’s Most Famous Cemetery on the MyHeritage blog
- Liste des noms de famille les plus courants en France
References
- ↑ Everything you need to know about French names. French Together
- ↑ Procédure de changement de nom de famille par décret (motif légitime). Service Public