Dupuy
A French surname meaning “from the hill” or “at the height,” originally used for someone who lived by an elevated place.
The #9,192 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 87,020 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Dupuy comes from French du puy, meaning “of the hill” or “from the height.” The second element puy is an old French word for a hill or elevated place, ultimately from Latin podium, meaning a raised platform or height. In place-name use, it often referred to a prominent hilltop, especially in southern France.
History
The name is especially associated with southern French toponymy, where puy is a common landscape term. English-language surname writers of the 19th and early 20th centuries repeatedly cite Dupuy as a French locational surname. Related spellings and forms have sometimes been Anglicized in America, though Dupuy remains the standard form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Writers like Weekley noted that the same root behind Dupuy also helped give English the word “pew,” originally a raised seat or platform.
From the historical record
“DU puis; puis (Ft. putts), Lat. pute-us] DUPUY "1 (Fr.) Of the Height [South. Fr. DU PUY //>«>, a, height; Lat. podi-um, a balcony, elevated platform] Le puy est, k proprement parler, la plate-forme a rebords qui caract6rise la cime des anciens volcans d'Auvergne. — Larchey, p. 146. DURANTE (Ital.) Enduring [Ital.…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)