Frequency: (89)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
French (Chêne): from Old French chesne ‘oak’ (Late Latin caxinus), hence a topographic name denoting someone who lived near a conspicuous oak tree or in an oak wood, or perhaps occasionally a nickname for a man with a ‘heart of oak’.
GIVEN NAMES: French 19%. Alain, Andre, Armand, Jean Michel, Marcel, Pierre.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
