LaFountain
A French-derived surname meaning “the fountain” or “the spring,” likely referring to a place near a water source.
The #8,990 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 84,844 Americans shares it.
Etymology
LaFountain is a French-looking surname built from the definite article la and fountain, ultimately from Latin fons, meaning “spring” or “well.” As a surname, it most likely began as a topographic or locational name for someone who lived by a notable spring, fountain, or water source. The spelling has been anglicized in North America, where the name often appears as LaFountain rather than a more fully French form.
History
The surname is especially found in North America, where French and French-Canadian surnames often took on simplified or altered spellings after migration and English-language recordkeeping. It may also reflect an inherited house-name or place-name rather than a literal occupational or descriptive label. Because “fountain” is an English form of the same Romance root, the name can be written in several ways while preserving the same basic meaning.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname’s core image is very old: the same Latin root behind “fountain” also gave English words like “font” and “fount.”