Origin and popularity of the name CHEVALIER
Origin
Chevalier : French: from Old French chevalier ‘knight’ (literally ‘horseman rider’ from Late Latin caballarius a derivative of caballus ‘horse’). In the Middle Ages only men of comparative wealth were able to afford the upkeep of a riding horse. It is likely that in the majority of cases the surname was originally a nickname or an occupational name for a knight's servant rather than a status name for most men of the knightly class belonged to noble families which had more specific surnames derived from their estates. This was a name of Norman origin in England but probably did not survive the medieval period and was later reintroduced by Huguenot refugees.
Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
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Surname frequency
Geographic distribution of the 1,533,379 individuals with the name CHEVALIER on Geneanet.
Most found places for the name CHEVALIER:
This last name in the family trees
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