Dauphin Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Dauphin last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Dauphin last name
Meaning of the Dauphin last name: the dolphin. Dauphin is a French surname from the medieval personal name Dalphinus, "dolphin", or from a house sign showing a dolphin. The same word became the title of the heir to the French throne. The last name is found across France.
Arms associated with the Dauphin name
In France a coat of arms was used by town families and merchants as well as knights, and heraldry associated with the Dauphin name belongs to that wide tradition.
Get your full Dauphin family history
This is only a glimpse of the Dauphin story. The full Dauphin 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 Dauphin coat of arms. Get the full Dauphin report.
Dauphin name FAQ
What does the Dauphin name mean?
The dolphin. Common variants include Dauphine, Daufin.
Where does the Dauphin surname come from?
It originates in France, and is also found in Canada, Belgium and Switzerland.
Is there a Dauphin coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Dauphin 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).