Origin
Jean : 1: French Walloon West Indian (mainly Haiti) Mauritian and English (of French Huguenot origin): from the male personal name Jean French form of John. This is one of the most frequent surnames in Haiti (along with Joseph and Pierre). It is also established elsewhere in the West Indies (e.g. in the Dominican Republic Saint Lucia Saint Martin and Bahamas).2: English: habitational name for someone from Genoa in Italy; compare Janeway.3: Breton (mainly Le Jean): variant of Jan ‘John’.4: Chinese: variant Romanization of the surname 甄 see Zhen.
Bethencourt : French (northern; Béthencourt) and Spanish (of French origin; Canary Islands): variant of Bettencourt. This surname is most common in the Canary Islands where it was brought to by the first conqueror of this islands Jean de Béthencourt (1362–1425) a French knight in the service of Castile who became king of the Canary Islands and his nephew and successor Maciot de Béthencourt. Elsewhere in the Spanish speaking world the most common form of this surname is Betancourt. — Note: The population figure published by the US Census Bureau for this surname in the year 2000 is 107.
Capistrant : French Canadian: from an altered form of the French personal name Capistran shortened from Jean de Capistran bestowed in honor of Saint John of Capistrano (see Capistrano 1). This surname is no longer found in Canada.
Cregeen : a reduced form of Gaelic Mac Bhríghdín ‘son of Bríghdín’ a Manx pet form of Bridget. The name is pronounced with a soft g /dʒ/ as in English jean. Ballacregeen (Arbory) is ‘Cregeens’ farm'.
Flucker : perhaps a derivative of Middle English fluke Older Scots fluke flowke (Old English flōc) ‘flat fish’ (especially the flounder) + -er denoting a fisherman specialising in the catching of flat fish. Black notes that this was ‘an old surname in Fife’ and ‘a not uncommon one among the fisherfolk of Newhaven near Edinburgh’.alternatively it may be a variant of Fulcher (Middle English Fulcher Fulker Folker) with metathesis of l. See also Flockhart and Folkard with which the surname probably become confused. Compare the following all appearing as entries in IGI for the parish of Inveresk with Musselburgh Midlothian: Marion Flocard (1684) Jean Folkard (1687) and Agnes Fluker (1813). With Jeane Fluker (1604) compare Janet Fluckard 1680 both in IGI entries for Edinburgh.
Grosjean : French and Swiss French: compound name from gros ‘big large’ + the personal name Jean (French form of John); it may have been applied as a nickname to distinguish between two bearers of the same personal name denoting either the older or the larger or simply to denote an exceptionally large (or small) man. Grosjean is also used in French as a nickname for a stupid fellow. Compare Groshong.
Jean-Baptiste : French and West Indian (mainly Haiti) (also Jeanbaptiste especially in the US): from the French personal name Jean-Baptiste a compound of Jean (see John) and Baptiste. In the US the surname is almost exclusively of West Indian origin.
Jean-Charles : West Indian (mainly Haiti; also Jeancharles especially in the US): from the French personal name Jean-Charles a compound of Jean (see John) and Charles.
Jean-Louis : French and West Indian (mainly Haiti) (also Jeanlouis especially in the US): from the French personal name Jean-Louis a compound of Jean (see John) and Louis. In the US the surname is almost exclusively of Haitian origin.
John : 1: English and Welsh: ultimately from the Hebrew personal name Yoḥanan ‘Jehovah has favored (me with a son)’ or ‘may Jehovah favor (this child)’. This personal name was adopted into Latin (via Greek) as Johannes and has enjoyed enormous popularity in Europe throughout the Christian era being given in honor of Saint John the Baptist precursor of Christ and of Saint John the Evangelist author of the fourth gospel as well as the nearly one thousand other Christian saints who bore the name. Some of the principal forms of the personal name in other languages are: Welsh Ieuan Evan Siôn and Ioan; Scottish Ia(i)n; Irish Séan; German Johann Johannes; Dutch and Slavic Jan; French Jean; Italian Giovanni; Spanish Juan; Portuguese João; Greek Iōannēs (vernacular Giannis Yannis); Russian Ivan. There were a number of different forms of the name in Middle English including Jan(e) a male name (see Jayne); Jen (see Jenkin); Jon(e) (see Jones); and Han(n) (see Hann). By the beginning of the 14th century John rivalled William in popularity and has always been a favorite name. Johan became Jo(h)n and another Old French form Jehan was shortened to Jan and Jen giving rise to Old French and Middle English diminutives such as Jonin Janin and Jenin. More common in Middle English were Jankin Jonkin and Jenkin which were Middle Dutch pet forms introduced after the Conquest by Flemish and Picard settlers. The most common pet form of John was Jack another borrowing from Flemish and Picard usage. Han may sometimes have been a short form of Johan but was more usually a pet form of Henry. There were also various Middle English feminine versions of this name (e.g. Joan Jehan) some of which were indistinguishable from masculine forms. The distinction on grounds of gender between John and Joan was not firmly established in English until the 17th century. It was even later that Jean and Jane were specialized as specifically female names in English; bearers of these surnames and their derivatives are more likely to derive them from a male ancestor than a female. As a surname in the British Isles John is particularly frequent in Wales where it is a late formation representing Welsh Siôn rather than the older form Ieuan (which gave rise to the surname Evan). In North America the English form of the surname has absorbed many cognates from other languages e.g. Assyrian/Chaldean Youkhana French Jean Hungarian János (see Janos) Slovenian Janež and Janeš (see Janes) Czech Jan Albanian Gjoni and their derivatives (see examples at Johnson). The name John is also found among Christians in southern India (compare Ninan and Yohannan) but since South Indians traditionally do not have hereditary surnames the southern Indian name was in most cases registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.2: German: from a North German and Silesian variant of the personal name Johannes. This surname is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine). Compare Yohn.
Lumsdale : altered form of Lumsden. Compare George Lumsdale 1630 Robt Lumsden 1634 in IGI (Newcastle upon Tyne Northumb); Thomas Lumsden 1648 Robert Lumsdale 1669 in IGI (Gateshead Durham); Margaret Lumsden 1652 Margaret Lumsdail 1688 Marion Lumsdean 1690 in IGI (Kelso Roxburghs); Jean Lumsdale 1670 Jean Lumsden 1672 in IGI (Prestonpans E Lothian).
Modral : reduced form of Motherwell. Compare Androw Motherall 1645 Isobell Modrall 1663 Marion Moderall 1678 Marian Modrel 1710 in IGI (Saint Ninians Stirlings); James Modderall 1667 Agnes Modral 1702 in IGI (Kilsyth Stirlings); Jonet Motherall 1706 Jean Modderal 1766 in IGI (Campsie Stirlings).
Petitjean : French: from a compound of Old French petit ‘small’ + the personal name Jean (see John) hence a nickname for a small man called Jean (or an ironic nickname for a large man) or a distinguishing epithet for the younger of two bearers of the same name. Compare Pettyjohn.
Prejean : 1: Breton (Préjean): Frenchified form of Prigent (see Pregent). This surname is very rare in Brittany while elsewhere in France it is mostly of different origin (see 2 below). In the US it is found mainly in LA and TX.2: French (Préjean): topographic name from pré de Jean ‘John’s meadow’.
Sneddon : Scottish: habitational name from the lands of Sneddon in Paisley (Renfrewshire) from Snawdon in Garvald and Barra (East Lothian) or perhaps from Snawdon near Thirlestane in Lauderdale (Berwickshire). Whichever placename is involved in the surname is ultimately from Old English snāw ‘snow’ + dūn ‘hill’ like the famous Snowdon in Wales. Those in Scotland may be independent coinings and literal descriptions of hills on which snow tended to lie long but Snowdoun or Snawdoun also belong to a group of Arthurian names popular in Scotland in the later Middle Ages and may have been applied as such in the names mentioned and also in the case of the lost Snadown by St. Andrews (Fife). Stirling was regarded as standing on the boundary of the ancient Scottish and British kingdoms with strong associations with King Arthur making it possible for King David II to claim to the chronicler Jean Froissart in 1365 that Stirling Castle was the Snowdon of King Arthur. It may be that the placename(s) supplying the surname allude to this potent mythology.
Tourell : from Old French tourelle ‘turret’ or from Tourel in Saint Jean Lespinasse (Lot) named with this word.
Tschannen : South German and Swiss German: from a German dialect variant of the French personal name Jean (see John).
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
FANBI : The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain, ©2021, University of the West of England
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