Origin
Pierre : French Walloon West Indian (mainly Haiti) and Mauritian:: 1: from the personal name Pierre French form of Peter (see also below). This is one of the most frequent surnames in Haiti (along with Jean and Joseph) and in Saint Martin. It is also established elsewhere in the West Indies (e.g. in Trinidad and Tobago Saint Lucia Grenada and Bahamas).2: from Old French pierre ‘stone rock’ (from Latin petra a word which is also the origin of the personal name Pierre; see Peter). It may be a topographic name denoting someone who lived on a patch of stony soil or by a large outcrop of rock or a metonymic occupational name for a quarryman or stonemason. Compare Lapierre.
Curley : 1: Irish (Galway): shortened form of McCurley.2: English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of several places in northern France named Corlay for example in Côtes-d'Armor and Indre or possibly from Corlieu the former name of La Rue Saint Pierre in Oise. Reaney and Wilson suggest also it may have been a variant of the nickname Curlew after the bird Anglo-Norman French curleu.3: Native American (Navajo): ranslation into English of a Navajo personal name based on chishch’ilí ‘curly haired’ (see Chischilly).
Figaro : 1: Italian: from dialect figaro ‘fig-tree’ (see also 3 below) used as a topographic name or an occupational name for a fig seller.2: Americanized form of Italian Ficara and Ficarra changed under influence of a well known personal name Figaro from the Beaumarchais' plays (see 4 below).3: French: perhaps a variant of Figarol a southern French diminutive derivative of Latin ficarius ‘fig-tree’ (compare 1 above). Alternatively from the personal name Figaro (see 4 below) probably applied as a nickname.4: West Indian (mainly Haiti) and Mauritian: from the personal name Figaro borne by a hero of the famous plays (most notably The Marriage of Figaro 1778) of the French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais.
Lajeunesse : 1: French: from la jeunesse ‘(the) youth’ used as a soldier's name and probably also as a nickname for someone especially young fresh or naive. Compare Laginess Lajiness and Young 2.2: Haitian: from the personal name or nickname La Jeunesse or Lajeunesse of French origin (see 1 above) borne by a servant in The Barber of Seville a play written in 1773 by the French writer Pierre Beaumarchais.
Laperriere : French (Laperrière): topographic name from Old French perriere ‘quarry’ (derivative of pierre ‘stone rock’) with fused feminine definite article la; or a habitational name from any of several places in various parts of France named La Perrière.
Lapierre : French Walloon and Flemish:: 1: topographic name with fused French feminine definite article la for someone who lived on a patch of stony soil or by a large outcrop of rock from Old French pierre ‘stone rock’ (compare Pierre 2); or a habitational name from any of various places called Lapierre or La Pierre in France and Belgium (Wallonia) with the same meaning.2: from French la pierre ‘the stone’ used as a nickname (often for a person named Pierre; see Pierre 1) or soldier's name and probably also as a metonymic occupational name for a quarryman or stone carver. Compare Lapeer Lapier and Stone 3.
Leveille : 1: French (Léveillé): nickname from l'éveillé ‘the lively’.2: West Indian (mainly Haiti) and Mauritian: from the personal name or nickname L'Éveillé or Léveillé of French origin (see 1 above) borne by a servant in The Barber of Seville a play written in 1773 by the French writer Pierre Beaumarchais.
Lihou : from the island of Lihou in Saint Pierre du Bois (Guernsey) whose name is of Scandinavian origin (from an uncertain initial element + Old Scandinavian holmr ‘small island’).
Lindor : 1: French and West Indian (mainly Haiti): from the personal name Lindor borne by the main character in The Barber of Seville a play written in 1773 by the French writer Pierre Beaumarchais.2: French: habitational name from Lindor a placename (part of the city of Labouheyre) in Landes. This surname (in any of the two possible senses; see also 1 above) is very rare in France. It was brought to the US mainly from the West Indies (mostly Haiti).
Perel : 1: Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name from Yiddish perl ‘pearl’.2: Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish female personal name Perl ‘pearl’.3: French (Pérel): from a pet form of the personal name Pierre French form of Peter.
Perras : French (mainly Rhône): topographic name for someone who lived in a stony place or near an obvious pile of stones from a derivative of pierre ‘rock’ meaning ‘pile of stones’; or perhaps a habitational name from Perras the name of a few places in the southwestern part of France.
Perrenoud : French: from a pet form of the Old French personal name Perre a variant of Pierre French form of Peter.
Perrier : 1: French: occupational name for a quarryman or stone breaker from Old French perrier an agent derivative of pierre ‘stone rock’.2: French: habitational name from (Le) Perrier the name of several places in various parts of France.3: English: topographic name for someone who lived by a pear tree from Middle English perie ‘pear tree’ + the suffix -er denoting an inhabitant.4: English (of Norman origin): occupational name either from Old French perrier perrieur ‘quarrier stone breaker’ (compare 1 above) or given the implied high social status of some of the early English bearers from an agent derivative of Old French and Middle English perri pirri ‘precious stone’ hence ‘jeweler’.
Perrigo : 1: Variant of Peregoy a surname of French origin. Compare Perigo 1.2: English: Anglicized form of French Perrigot a diminutive of the personal name Perrigaud a compound of Pierre (see Peter) + Rigaud (a pet form of Richard). Alternatively perhaps of the same origin as 1 above. Compare Perigo 2.
Perron : 1: Altered form of French Péron (see Peron 1) a cognate of 2 below. Compare Paro Pearo Pero and Perow.2: French: from a pet form of the Old French personal name Perre a variant of Pierre French form of Peter. This surname is also established in England taken there by the Huguenots; compare Perrin.3: French: habitational name from (Le) Perron the name of several places in various parts of France (e.g. in Jura) named from pierre ‘stone rock’.4: Breton (rarely Le Pérron): variant of Pédron (see Pedron).5: Spanish (Perrón): probably from an augmentative of perro ‘dog’.6: Italian: variant of Perrone with loss of the final syllable.
Person : 1: Americanized form (and a very rare Swedish variant) of Swedish Persson or Pehrsson (see Pehrson).2: German: patronymic from the personal name Peer Low German variant of Peter.3: English: variant of Parson.4: French (mainly northeastern): from a shortened form of Perreçon a pet form (with double diminutive suffix -eçon) of the personal name Pierre French form of Peter.5: Breton (also Le Person): nickname from person ‘parson rector of a parish’.6: Jewish (from Latvia and Belarus): either a variant of Berson or metronymic from the Yiddish female personal name Pere a pet form of Perl ‘pearl’ (compare Perel 2).
Persyn : Dutch and Flemish: from a pet form of the personal name Perceval (see Percival) or from a French pet form (in -ecin) of the personal name Pierre French form of Peter.
Pierce : 1: English Welsh and Irish: from the Anglo-Norman French and Middle English personal name Piers Peres Peris an Old French nominative of Pierre or Per the French form of Peter. Pierce is especially frequent in northwestern Wales and Lancashire while Pearce is the more common spelling in the rest of England. In Ireland Pierce and Pearse represent a shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Piarais ‘son of Piaras’ a Gaelicized form of Piers.2: Americanized form of some similar-sounding Jewish surname.
Pierpont : English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of several places in Normandy called Pierrepont e.g. Pierrepont (Seine-Maritime) Pierrepont (Calvados) Saint-Nicolas-de-Pierrepont (Manche) or Saint-Sauveur-de-Pierrepont (Manche) so called from Old French pierre ‘stone’ + pont ‘bridge’.
Pierron : French: from a pet form of the personal name Pierre French form of Peter.
Piette : 1: Altered form of French Piet 1 reflecting the Canadian and American French practice of sounding the final -t.2: Walloon and northern French: from a pet form of the French personal name Pierre (see Peter) derived from its Flemish (Dutch) cognate Piet 2. The surname Piette is also found in the Flemish part of Belgium.
Proteau : French: from a pet form of the personal name Protaise from Latin Protasius a derivative of Greek prōtos ‘first’ or from a shortened form of Perroteau a pet form of the personal name Pierre (see Peter). Compare Proto.
Saint Pierre : this is probably a Huguenot name from any of various places in France called Saint Pierre from the dedication of their churches to Saint Peter. Compare Simper which is a Norman name that has the same origin.
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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
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