|
The use of a
surname is relatively new in history and was adopted in order to legally
distinguish two individuals with the same first name. At first, these
last names were not passed down to the next generation which makes
tracing early generations more difficult. A surname, also known as a
last name or family name, is a fixed name shared in common with the
members of a family and is passed down from generation to generation.
The Chinese were among the very first cultures to adopt the use of
hereditary surnames about 5000 years ago. In Europe, surnames weren't
used until the 10th or 11th centuries AD in Venice. Gradually
throughout Europe, all nobility and gentry adopted surnames until
eventually surnames were used by all Europeans of all classes. The use
of family surnames in European cultures became commonplace during the
13th through the 15th centuries.
Surnames were generally derived from one of four sources:
1) Patronymic (from the first name of father).
Examples:
Peters - son of Peter (English, German)
Peterson - son of Peter (Swedish)
Petersen - son of Peter (Danish)
O'Reilly - grandson of Reilly (Ireland)
Mc- /Mac- - son of (Scottish)
d'- / di- - son of (Italian)
-ez / -es - son of (Spanish / Portuguese)
-wicz - son of (Poland)
Fitz- - son of (Norman or Old English - sometimes incorrectly associated
with being an illegitimate)
2) Lives near locality or place.
Examples:
KirkPatrick - Church (kirk) of St. Patrick
Cliff - steep hill
Fairholm - the fair island
Ashley - field surrounded by ash trees
3) Occupation or social status.
Examples:
Cooper - barrel maker
Wagner or Waggoner - wagon maker
Knight - knighthood conferred by the king
Smith - blacksmith
Powers - poor or taken a vow of poverty
4) Nicknames describing person or personality.
Examples:
Reid - red, ruddy complexion or red hair
Stout - Body size
Small - Body size
Armstrong - strong arms
Sharpe - sharp, smart
Surname spelling has evolved over centuries and until the 20th century,
the spelling of a surname was not fixed. Before then, it was not unusual
to see the same person's surname spelled in different ways from record
to record. In the 1800's and before, when many people were illiterate,
names were written by clerks, officials, and priests as they heard the
name pronounced. This lead to different spellings for the same name.
Spelling continued to evolve until this century. So as you are looking
for your surname history, it is important to check out spelling
variations.
What does my last name mean? If you have ever wondered about the meaning
of your last name, where your family lived, what they did, or how they
looked, you may find your surname may answer some of these questions
about your ancestors from many hundreds of years ago.
Remillard (also
found as Rouillard) is a diminutive of Rouille, apparently a nickname
from Old French rouiller ‘roll the eyes in anger’. However, in
medieval slang the term denoted a type of barrel or cask, and the
surname may have arisen, perhaps as a nickname or a metonymic
occupational name, from this sense. The name first appears in Chateau
Ponsac, Haute Vienne, Limousin, France where the name is found as
Rouihat. Early records show many variations of the name such as
Rouillard, Remillard, Remear, Remillaut etcetera.
Francois
Rouillard son of Guillaume ROUMIHAT and Marie
TESTARD or TETARD, was baptized 24 November 1647 at Chateau-Ponsac,
Bellac, Limoges, France
(Jette,
Page 973). He came to New France (modern day Quebec) and married Anne
Gaboury at L'Islet in 1681. His descendants generally use the
forms Remillard (Rémillard
in Quebec and Rouillard. |
