Surname Henault - Meaning and Origin
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Henault: What does the surname Henault mean?
The last name Henault is a French origin surname. The origin of the name Henault is a combination of the words Héna andault which roughly translate to mean “curly knoll” or “curly slope”. It is thought that the name was originally given to someone who lived on or near a small hill or knoll.
The Henault name was likely given to a family living in France in the Middle Ages. Over the centuries, the family name evolved as the population spread to other countries such as Canada and the United States. In Canada, the Henault name is associated very specifically with the province of Quebec and Acadians who started emigrating there in the 1700s.
The name Henault is also associated with several notable people, including Jean-Baptiste Henault, the founder of the city of Magog, Quebec, in the mid-1800s. The Henault name is also shared by Canadian hockey player Pierre-Luc Henault; Canadian economist Gilles Henault; and several politicians, authors, musicians, and artists.
Although the French origin of the Henault name is well-known, there is also speculation that it could have come from German, Dutch, or Italian sources. Regardless, the name is now associated with a unique and rich history stretching back many centuries.
Order DNA origin analysisHenault: Where does the name Henault come from?
The last name Henault is fairly common in France, as befits a name of French origins. It is particularly common in Brittany in the northwest of France where it is the 167th most common name. In other areas of France, the surname is less common, but has still been recorded in almost all French departments.
Outside of France, the name Henault is also found in other francophone countries. It is most frequent in Canada, where it was recorded as the 811th most common name in the 2016 Canadian Census. It is also relatively common in Algeria where it is the 384th most common name, and in Switzerland where it was recorded as the 470th most popular name.
In the United States, the name Henault is much less common, where it is not even among the top 5000 surnames. However, the name is still to be found, mostly in states which have large French populations such as Louisiana and Maine.
Overall, the last name Henault is a fairly common one in France and in French speaking areas of the world, but is less common in other parts of the world.
Variations of the surname Henault
The surname Henault is an ancient French surname. It is derived from the words originally “an hoel” which meant “at the angle” or “at the corner,” referring to someone who lived at a physical corner of a settlement. Today, the surname Henault can be found with a wide variety of different spellings and variants, as well as in different languages.
In French, the surname Henault is often spelled Hénault, and variants such as Henaut, Henautt, Hénault, Henau, and Hinaud may be seen. The Germanized spelling of Henault may be found as Henold, Henolt, Henles, Henl, or Heinold. There are also some variants of the Henault surname with Dutch pronunciations like Henolt, Henouls, and Hennau.
In England, Henault has been seen as Hennell, Hennel, and Hannell. In other parts of the world, including Quebec, Canada, the surname may be seen as Anault, Anou, Anoure, and Hanou; The Italian variant of Henault is namely Henaldi and in Spain the name is commonly spelled Henal. In America, Henault occupants may have Americanized the spelling to Hennell, Henley, and Henlin. Thus, as the above suggests, Henault is quite a versatile surname.
Famous people with the name Henault
- Charlotte Henault: Charlotte Henault is a French figure skater who has competed both in singles and pairs skating. In the 2020-21 figure skating season, she partnered with Romain Ponsart in the pair's event, where they competed at the French Championships.
- Jérôme Henault: Jérôme Henault is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played in the National Hockey League for the Los Angeles Kings. He also competed internationally for Canada.
- Pierre-Luc Henault: Pierre-Luc Henault is a former provincial cabinet minister in Quebec, Canada, and the current Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. He has held several other political positions, including cabinet minister and whip.
- Julien Henault: Julien Henault is a French musician who has been playing with some of the most prominent names in French jazz since his 2000 debut album. He has toured and played music in Europe, North America and Japan and released nine albums as a leader.
- Stéphanie Henault: Stéphanie Henault is a Canadian tennis player who returned to singles competition in 2018 and 2019. She won the 2017 Canadian University Women's Tennis Championship, was the 2017 Canada Summer Games doubles champion, and was a Canadian Davis Cup team member in 2017.
- Alexandre Henault: Alexandre Henault is a Canadian professional swimmer who competes in long-distance freestyle and open water events. He has competed in the Olympics, World Championships and Commonwealth Games for Canada.
- Monique Henault: Monique Henault is a Canadian former synchronized swimmer and a one-time Olympic medalist. She represented Canada at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics as part of the gold medal-winning synchronised swimming team.
- Frédéric Henault: Frédéric Henault is a Canadian former competitive ice dancer. He represented Canada with Isabelle Fleury in the 2008-09 season and with Séverine Divoux in the 2009-10 season. The pair won a silver medal at the 2010 Canadian Championships.