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  • Huguenot surnames
    • Main contributor: Maor Malul

    Huguenot surnames are those hereditary family names carried by the descendants of protestants in France and Wallonia in today's Belgium throughout the 16th and 17th centuries who adhered to the the Reformed tradition of Protestantism named Calvinism and left France de to religious persecution to non-Catholic countries in Europe and some of their colonial possessions; the Huguenots are credited with introducing the modern word "refugee" into the English language.[1] It is estimated that around 20% of Afrikaner surnames are of Huguenot origin.[2]

    History of Huguenot surnames

    16th-century religious geopolitics on a map of modern France. The areas shaded in purple were controlled by the Huguenot nobility.

    After revoking the Edict of Nantes, which granted Huguenots civil rights, in October 1685, Louis XIV passed the Edict of Fontainebleau, which forced them to convert to Catholicism and forbade them from leaving France under threat of imprisonment, torture, or death, thus ending the legal recognition of Protestantism in France. However, many people took the risk and embarked on the perilous journey, often leaving their families behind. They traveled far and wide. it is estimated that at least a quarter of a million Huguenots left France for England, Germany, North America and the Netherlands, where they were attracted as part of a concerted strategy by the Dutch East India Company to acquire their skills, offering benefits to Huguenot families seeking to resettle in the Low Countries,[1] where the local population shared the same Calvinist belief; from there, a less than 200 families left for the Cape Colony, in what today is South Africa, where they played an outsized role in Dutch settlement of South Africa, bringing with them the agricultural and especially, the winemaking, talent they developed in France.[2]

    Huguenot naming conventions

    Huguenot Monument. Franschhoek, South Africa.

    At first sight, Huguenot surnames aren't very different from other French surnames; one key aspect to detect if one's ancestor was a Huguenot is their religion, as Huguenots were all Protestant.[3] When Huguenots migrated to English, German, Swedish or Dutch-speaking places, it was common for them to adapt the spelling of their surname to the local language,[4] like Leclerc becoming De Klerk, Villon being spelled Viljoen, Pinard becoming Pienaar, Du Pré being spelled Du Preez and Rétif turning into Retief[2] in South Africa; in Britain, Andrieu became Andrews, Barré became Barrett, Pottier changed into Potter and Delacroix turned into Cross.[4]

    Huguenot surnames of occupational origin

    Huguenot surnames of descriptive origin

    A large number of Huguenot surnames are associated with personal o physical traits, like the following:

    Huguenot surnames of toponymic origin

    Huguenot church
    French Huguenot Church, French Quarter, Charleston, SC

    Approximately 80% of all Huguenots, according to historians, resided in western and southern France. This is perhaps the reason why Huguenot surnames associated with a location are the most distinctive Huguenot surnames, as many were primarily concentrated in regions like Languedoc-Roussillon, Gascony, and even a narrow strip of land extending into the Dauphiné. Huguenots were also dispersed throughout the Normandy and Poitou provinces and lived in La Rochelle on the Atlantic coast. Most Huguenot strongholds could be found in the southern cities of Castres, Montauban, Montpellier, and Nîmes. Additionally, the rural, mountainous Cevennes region was laced with a dense network of Protestant villages. Once home to Camisards, it remains the central hub of French Protestantism.

    Huguenot surnames based on a given name

    Most common Huguenot surnames

    Among the most common Huguenot surnames are the following:[5]

    Famous people with Huguenot surnames

    Charlize Theron.
    • Juanita Du Plessis, South African country singer
    • J. M. Coetzee, South African novelist, essayist, linguist, translator and recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature.
    • Jean-François de La Rocque de Roberval, first lieutenant governor of of New France (1541–1543) André and Magda Trocmé, French couple designated Righteous Among the Nations for leading the town of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon to save at least 2,000 Jews during WW2
    • Simon Le Bon, British singer, lead of the band Duran Duran
    • Frederik Willem de Klerk, the last President of the Republic of South Africa under apartheid and joint 1994 Nobel Prize laureate with Nelson Mandela
    • Timothée Chalamet, American / French actor best known for his role of Paul Atreides in the 2021 film Dune
    • Lothar de Maizière, head of East Germany's first and only democratically elected government and former Stasi informant from Germany.
    • Charlize Theron, South-African/American actress, recipient of the 2004 Academy Award for her role in the film Monster

    See also

    Explore more about Huguenot surnames

    References

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Where Did the Huguenots Go? (7 Regions They Settled). The Collector
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Huguenots in South Africa. Protestant Museum
    3. ↑ Huguenots. History Channel
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Huguenots: London's First Refugees. Londonist
    5. ↑ What Are Some Common French Huguenot Surnames?


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