Where does your last name come from? The guide to understand its origin and meaning

Discover the hidden history behind your last names: origins, etymologies, and anecdotes to better understand your roots.

Where does your last name come from? The guide to understand its origin and meaning


Have you ever tried to understand what your last name hides?

Behind every last name lies a story: a forgotten profession, a place lived, a first name passed down from generation to generation… Last names are not just labels: they are true witnesses of the past and a gateway to your origins.

In this article, we will explore the origin and meaning of last names in France, their evolution over time, their regional specificities, and the available resources to better understand them.


What is a last name?

The last name, also called patronym, gradually appeared in the Middle Ages. Before that, people were identified by their first name, sometimes accompanied by a nickname or a geographical detail (Jean de Tours, Pierre le Forgeron…).


The increase in population made a more stable system necessary to distinguish individuals. This is how last names were fixed, between the 12th and 15th centuries depending on the regions.


A last name wasn’t chosen randomly: it often described a visible or known characteristic of the person.

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