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ArchivesWhat does Allaire mean?
From the French surname, Allaire. I was just curious as to what it means.
"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." - William Shakespeare
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Replies
Figured it out.
Means “cheerful”, most likely. Never mind.
Means “cheerful”, most likely. Never mind.
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Most francophone sources state that Allaire is a variant of Hilaire, which ultimately comes from Latin hilaris meaning "cheerful".
However, at least one French source states that the surname can also be of Breton origin, in which case it is ultimately derived from the name of the medieval Breton saint Alar/Alor of Quimper (died in 462 AD). This etymology should be possible for Breton bearers of the surname, and would also explain (at least partially) why the surname is most common in Brittany.
Sources used:
• https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allaire (in French)
• scroll down to the entry for Allaire at http://jeantosti.com/noms/a3.htm (in French)
• https://www.filae.com/nom-de-famille/allaire.html (in French)
• http://www.geopatronyme.com/cgi-bin/carte/nomcarte.cgi?numero=0013536&periode=4 (in French; shows the distribution of the surname)
However, at least one French source states that the surname can also be of Breton origin, in which case it is ultimately derived from the name of the medieval Breton saint Alar/Alor of Quimper (died in 462 AD). This etymology should be possible for Breton bearers of the surname, and would also explain (at least partially) why the surname is most common in Brittany.
Sources used:
• https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allaire (in French)
• scroll down to the entry for Allaire at http://jeantosti.com/noms/a3.htm (in French)
• https://www.filae.com/nom-de-famille/allaire.html (in French)
• http://www.geopatronyme.com/cgi-bin/carte/nomcarte.cgi?numero=0013536&periode=4 (in French; shows the distribution of the surname)
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Allaire is also a village in Brittany. a couple of vineyards are known as Ville-Allaire in other communes. the french entry on St Alar indicates that Saint-Alouarn (another commune near Quimper) is a variant of the name.
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From the little Breton that I speak, it seems quite possible as "Alouarn" could very much be a distortion of "Al louarn" (meaning litteraly "the fox"). As a Breton noun beginning with a "l" tend to change the determiner before it from "ar" (meaning "the") or "ur" ("a") to "al"/"ul" it would explain the double "l" in "Allaire".
It is not mentioned over here but I suppose "Alar" could also come from "Al loar" ("the moon").
However, if I focused on the sound, "Alar" could come from "Alac'h" (pronounced "A-larh" or for a German speaker "alach") which wouldn't explain the double "l".
It is not mentioned over here but I suppose "Alar" could also come from "Al loar" ("the moon").
However, if I focused on the sound, "Alar" could come from "Alac'h" (pronounced "A-larh" or for a German speaker "alach") which wouldn't explain the double "l".
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Try the Surnames board: https://surnames.behindthename.com/
Good luck!
Good luck!
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Maybe it's from the verb aller (to go)?
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I doubt it because as complex as the different tenses of that verb are there none that I see which could explain the pronounciation of the "r" (ex: gerondif "allant", past participle "allé", simple past "alla", simple "ira" with an "r" coming from the future tense but not the radical "all" itself...).
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