★ Be on time for a wonderful present this year · Order by Dec 8 (US) · Dec 9 (UK & AU) · All dates ›

Vaillant Surname Meaning & Origin

What the Vaillant last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.

Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the Vaillant coat of arms for you.

Meaning and origin of the Vaillant last name

Meaning of the Vaillant last name: brave. Vaillant is a French surname from vaillant, "brave" or "valiant", a nickname for a bold man. It is found across France and Belgium. Marshal Jean-Baptiste Vaillant served Napoleon III, and Auguste Vaillant threw a bomb into the Chamber of Deputies in 1893. The last name is also known in Quebec.

Arms associated with the Vaillant name

In France a coat of arms was used by town families and merchants as well as knights, and heraldry associated with the Vaillant name belongs to that wide tradition.

Get your full Vaillant family history

This is only a glimpse of the Vaillant story. The full Vaillant 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 Vaillant coat of arms. Get the full Vaillant report.

Vaillant name FAQ

What does the Vaillant name mean?

Brave. Common variants include Valiant, Vaillancourt.

Where does the Vaillant surname come from?

It originates in France, and is also found in Canada, Belgium and Switzerland.

Is there a Vaillant coat of arms?

Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Vaillant 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).