LaFontaine
A French surname meaning “the fountain” or “by the spring,” originally pointing to someone who lived near a water source.
The #8,964 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 84,541 Americans shares it.
Etymology
La Fontaine comes from French la fontaine, meaning “the fountain” or “the spring.” The underlying Latin source is fons, fontis, “spring” or “well.” As a surname, it likely began as a topographic name for someone living near a notable fountain, spring, or water source. The form is often written as two words in older French, later becoming fixed as a hereditary surname.
History
This surname is especially French in shape and usage, and it belongs to the large class of names drawn from landscape features. The famous writer Jean de La Fontaine helped make the name widely recognized beyond France. In some families the name was later written as one word, while in others the space was preserved.
Origin
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Fun fact
The same word-family gave English the word “fountain,” so the surname and the common noun are close linguistic cousins.
From the historical record
“1316 lat „apud fontem**. FN. 1) Brunn (vgl. franz. Lafontaine). Kaltenbrunn. Saltxbrunn, Stein- brunn, — v. Schönprunn (bayr.).”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen