Chouinard
A French surname most likely built from a personal nickname or an old regional word, long associated with French-speaking families in Canada and northern France.
The #9,652 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 91,834 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Chouinard is a French surname, and its exact origin is not fully settled. It is usually explained as coming from an old French dialect word or nickname element based on chou, meaning "cabbage," often used in surnames and nicknames in French-speaking areas. The final element -ard is a common French surname-forming suffix, sometimes attached to nicknames or descriptive bynames.
History
The surname is especially familiar in French Canada, where many bearers descend from settlers who arrived from France in the colonial period. It is also found in France, though modern distribution is stronger in Québec and other Francophone communities. Like many French surnames, it may have begun as a nickname before becoming hereditary.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is relatively uncommon in the United States, but it is much better known in Québec, where French-Canadian surnames have remained especially distinctive.