Bouvier Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Bouvier last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Bouvier last name
Meaning of the Bouvier last name: ox-herd. Bouvier is a French occupational surname for a herdsman of oxen, from bouvier (Latin bos). Rural Burgundy and Franche-Comté favoured the trade name. The last name is known internationally through the Bouvier des Flandres dog breed and through Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy.
Arms associated with the Bouvier name
In France a coat of arms was used by town families and merchants as well as knights, and heraldry associated with the Bouvier name belongs to that wide tradition.
Get your full Bouvier family history
This is only a glimpse of the Bouvier story. The full Bouvier history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Bouvier coat of arms. Get the full Bouvier report.
Bouvier name FAQ
What does the Bouvier name mean?
Ox-herd. Common variants include Bouviet, Bovier.
Where does the Bouvier surname come from?
It originates in France, and is also found in Canada, Belgium and Switzerland.
Is there a Bouvier coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Bouvier coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Albert Dauzat, Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de famille et prénoms de France (Larousse); Marie-Thérèse Morlet, Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de famille (Perrin, 1991).