Origin and popularity of the name BESANCON

Origin

Besancon : French (Besançon): habitational name from Besançon in Doubs which is probably named with a Celtiberian element ves ‘mountain’ + the suffix -unt with a further Latin suffix -io (genitive -ionis). In folk etymology there has been some association of the placename with Old French bison a word denoting the (European) bison which appears in the arms of the city. Compare Bezanson.

Bezanson : Americanized form of French Besançon (see Besancon).

Claude : French and West Indian (mainly Haiti): from the French personal name Claude (from Latin Claudius a Roman surname derived from claudus ‘lame’) which was popular as a result of having been borne by a 7th-century Christian saint bishop of Besançon. Compare Glaude.

Donat : 1: French German Polish and English; Czech and Slovak (Donát): from a medieval personal name (from Latin Donatus past participle of donare frequentative of dare ‘to give’). As a personal name this was favored by early Christians either because the birth of a child was seen as a gift from God or else because the child was in turn regarded as being dedicated to God. The name was borne by various early Christian saints among them a 6th-century hermit of Sisteron and a 7th-century bishop of Besançon all of whom contributed to the popularity of the baptismal name in the Middle Ages which was not checked by the heresy of a 4th-century Carthaginian bishop who also bore it.2: Scottish: variant of Dunnett.

Gladis : 2: German: from a dialect variant of the Latin personal name Claudius borne by a 7th-century archbishop of Besançon.1: Rusyn (from Slovakia; Gladiš): nickname from gladysh ‘corpulent man fatty’ or from Polish gładysz ‘dandy’ (see Gladysz).

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Last name frequency

Geographic distribution of the 110,776 individuals with the name BESANCON on Geneanet.

This last name in the family trees

See below the Geneanet members' family trees which contain the last name BESANCON