Courville
A French surname usually taken from a place name, meaning someone from or near a town or village called Courville.
The #9,618 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 91,372 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Courville is generally explained as a French locational surname, formed from a place-name rather than from a personal description or occupation. The second element is likely Old French ville, meaning a settlement, village, or estate; the first element is less certain and may be an older local name element preserved in the place-name. In surname use, the name would originally have identified a person by origin from Courville or a similarly named locality.
History
The name is found in French records and later appears in French-speaking regions and among emigrant families abroad. In English-language surname books, it is treated as a place-based French name rather than a native English surname. Modern bearers in North America likely descend from French lines that preserved the original spelling, though some records may show minor spelling variation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several places in France are called Courville, so the surname may point to more than one possible ancestral hometown.
From the historical record
“D.B. Carbonel arevile, Coruyele. Courville ; a loc. n. ateray, Cartrait. D.B. de Ce- to terith.* Cauterets ; a loc. n.”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)