Does anyone know where my families original surname is from?

Question

It is originally LeTourneau and does any one know what it means? Also does anyone know the coat of arms looks like? I am certain it is from France and I just want to know where in France.

Answer 1

Coat of arms:
Gold, with a blue chevron on it, with three black crows around the chevron, two above one below. Or, in traditional heraldic blazon:

Or, a chevron bleu between three ravens sable.

The name is French, from Normandy, and the Le means Of or The. The original bearer could have been from someplace called Tourneau, or, more likely, got it in tournament(jousting). It means to shove, or spin around, like when you use the quintain, you hit it with your lance and it spins around. You're supposed to get out of the way fast enough, or get knocked off your horse. It can also mean a turncoat, a traitor. Say, his name was...Jean le Tourneau. That would be Shawn the Turner, Shawn Turner in anglicized names.


I thank the next one down. I apologize for missing the bird connection. I don't have my surname dictionary handy, but that's entirely correct. There are several meanings, and MANY coats of arms. The one I cited was just the most common for that name. The presence of the birds on the arms suggests the bird-related name is probably correct. However, just so as not to slit my throat here, starlings and crows are not at all the same, and would NEVER had been portrayed as such. The raven is known for cleverness and cunning, so the Turncoat thing may still be correct. You'd have to do extensive research on your family tree to trace back your original bearer, to see which meaning is correct. And for that, good luck. It'll never happen!

Answer 2

Starlings:

letourneau
French (Létourneau): from Old French estournel ‘starling’ (Late Latin sturnellus, a diminutive of classical Latin sturnus), with the definite article l’, hence a nickname for a chattering, gregarious person or a metonymic occupational name for a birdcatcher.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4


You can see a family crest here. The site says that the name appeared first in Normandy. You may want to do some independent research based on this information because this site exists mainly to sell family crests:

http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx/letourneau-family-crest.htm?a=54323-224

Answer 3

LeTourneau

French (Létourneau): from Old French estournel ‘starling’ (Late Latin sturnellus, a diminutive of classical Latin sturnus), with the definite article l’, hence a nickname for a chattering, gregarious person or a metonymic occupational name for a birdcatcher.

Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4

Source:
http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/default.aspx?ln=

There isn't any such thing as a "Family" Coat of arms, although dozens of T-shirt and coffee mug merchants will try to tell you otherwise. C of A were given to specific individuals. If your last name was Smith, you'd have 300 to chose fom.

Since the surname means "gabby" or "birdcatcher", it has no specific area in France, any more than "Armstrong" or "Carpenter" would in England. There were people named that all over France, although it is not as common as "Cook", "Baker", "Miller" or "Smith".

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Added:

Gray Trees didn't cite a source, but her reply is too detailed for her to be pulling your leg. One wonders why her source and the Oxford Press differ. They may both be right; there are people named "Pack" because they were travelling salesmen, and others whose name comes from from a medieval personal name, Pack, possibly a survival of the Old English personal name Pacca.

GT found two C of A, which sounds right for rare surnames. The eldest legitimate son inherits. If two were given out in 1506, by now there would still be just 2 eldest sons of eldest sons . . ., but there would be thousands - maybe tens of thousands - of descendants through younger sons, illegitimate sons, etc. That is why mercahnts perpetuate the myth of a "Family" Coat of Arms - it gives them a much bigger potential market.

Answer 4

Letourneau Family Crest

Answer 5

It is french. There is a reference book on french names that does give the coat of arms for each name as well as the origins of the names. I had a copy once, but i gave it away several years ago. You might want to go to a french library or ask a french consulate the same question.

Answer 6

Hey Andrew,

My first attempt at searching give a ton of references to Universities. No real meaning to the name. Then I searched for Families and came up with more information, including the Crest you asked about. There is a family site on rootsweb.com, see 3rd web site below. The fourth site below has pictures.

I would highly recommend that you go to Yahoo Search and type
"LeTourneau Family" and surf the abundance of sites that come up. Without more information from you, it would be difficult to say which of the 10 search pages of pages of families to look at.


---------------------------------------------Wikpedia \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/
LeTourneau can refer to several things:

R.G. LeTourneau, U.S. businessperson and university founder
LeTourneau University, university founded by R.G. LeTourneau
Fanny Létourneau, Canadian synchronized swimmer
Orgues Létourneau, Canadian pipe organ builder
Mary Kay Letourneau, former teacher known for the highly publicized case of having a sexual relationship with an underage pupil, and the resulting trial and imprisonment

Answer 7

go to a genealogy website, it can direct you where to look. we traced our family back to the 1500's, and for nearly 50-some years we thought we were from germany, and whatever website it was, we found out we were really from switzerland!!!

Answer 8

http://genealogy.about.com/library/surnames/t/bl_name-TURNER.htm

best i could do...