| As most of you
already know, the surname FOURQUET has French origins....but what
does it mean? How did the name come about?
Our names are one of the most
personal possessions we have, differentiating us from one another.
In ancient times, people were identified by single names. Later in
the XIIth century as families grew and moved on and about,
defining one's family identity became important and more
permanent. The ways that family names were conceived have been
different from place and place. In European countries, like many
other countries, family names originated from several sources
which are categorized in the following:
1) Locality Names: These names were
given according to where the progenitors lived. Ancestors may have
lived close to or in an area noted by some landmark or natural
site. Names like Rios (rivers), Del Valle (of the
valley), Torres (towers), Arenas (sands), Acosta
(the coast) and Cuevas (cave) may have come to be in this
manner.
2) Occupational: These are names derived
from an ancestor's occupation or tools of the trade. Examples are:
Mercado (Market place), Guerrero (warrior), Carillo
(cart) Toro (bull) &Tirado (marksman).
3) Patronymic: These are names that
originate from a head of household or fathers name. Very familiar
with surnames like: Rodriguez (son of or family of
Rodrigo), Alvarez (family of Alvaro), Ramirez (family
of Ramiro), Martinez (family of Martin) and Sanchez
(family of Sancho).
4) Characteristics: Names given to
people based on marks of appearance includes surnames like: Moreno
or Negron (dark skinned), Rubio (blonde) and Blanco
(White).
5) Other Sources: In the Hispanic
culture there has been a large number of surnames pertaining to
the religious beliefs. Spain was a devoutly Catholic country so it
wasn't surprising for people of faith to give themselves names
like: De La Cruz (of the cross), Iglesias (churches),
Santos (saints) and DeJesus (of Jesus).
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Origins
of the
Name Fourquet? |
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The surname
Fourquet
was derived from the Latin word "Furca or Fourche", the
French surname Fourquet can be defined as a kind of scoop,
spoon or shovel used for mixing mash in drinking establishments like
bars or pubs(1). A
copper or brass oval shovel (2),
pierced with holes, used to stir the mash in holding tanks (3)."
The pubs, translated from the French word brasserie, manually
brewed their own spirits in the early days. They mixed the
unfermented juice used to make wine, or the fermented juice for the
wine itself, in mash tubs with a fourquet. This would
conclude that a fourquet was an implement used in the manufacture of
spirits and in all probability the was first given an ancestor who
handled the utensil, making it of occupational origin.
Where does it come from?
The FOURQUET family surname is quite rare even in
France. There are only 2,000 persons listed of that name there
today, with the majority in the area of the Pyrenees. The following
is breakdown of Fourquet's found in France:
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| 220 in Pyrenees
Orientales |
| 190 in Hautes Pyrenees |
| 132 in Haute Garonne |
| the remainder
scattered throughout France.
This
is rather odd because the name is of Norman origin, yet we will find
only a few in Normandy and Picardy. |
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