French surnames?

Question:

French surnames?

Looking for origin/history of two French last names: Ducoux and Coulon (Not sure of spell ing on 2nd name). Thanks for any help. P.S. Both these names were in France in 1800's - "Coulon" returned a wrong British Isles source.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: COULON - FRENCH

During that dark period of history known as the Middle Ages, the name of coulon was first used in France. While the patronymic and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the name of the father and mother respectively, are the most common form of a hereditary surname in France, occupational surnames also emerged during the late Middle Ages. Many people, such as the coulon family, adopted the name of their occupation as their surname. However, an occupational name did not become a hereditary surname until the office or type of employment became hereditary. The surname coulon was an occupational name for a keeper of doves or pigeons having derived from the Old French word colombe, which means dove.

Spelling variations of this family name include: Coulombe, Colombe, Coulomb, Colomb, Columbe, Columb, Coloumb, Coloumbe, Coulumb, Coulumbe, Coulon, Coulons, Coulont, Coullombe, Coullomb, Coullon, Coullons, Coullont, Coullomb, Collombe, Collon and many more.

First found in Guyenne, where this distinguished family was seated since the 1100's.

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Charles Auguste Coulomb settled in Philadelphia in 1850; Coulon, aged 27; settled in New Orleans in 1822; Joseph Coulon settled in Philadelphia in 1798.