Bélanger
A French surname usually understood as a nickname or byname built from a word for a beautiful or attractive person.
The #2,793 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 23,893 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Bélanger is a French surname, conventionally written with an acute accent as Bélandger? Actually the established form is Bélanger, and it is usually explained as a nickname-type name. It is commonly taken to be built from Old French bel / beau, meaning “fair,” “beautiful,” or “handsome,” plus a second element often linked in traditional explanations to ange or a similar sound-alike formation, though the exact original formation is not always made explicit in older references. In practice, the name is best treated as a French descriptive surname that originally referred to someone thought to be pleasant-appearing or fine-looking.
History
The surname is strongly associated with French-speaking Canada, especially Quebec, where it became well established during the colonial period. Like many French surnames, it spread through parish records and migration from France to New France, then later into other parts of North America. Today it remains especially common among French-Canadian families and their descendants.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In North America, Bélanger is most often encountered without the accent mark in official records, even when families preserve the French spelling at home.