LeBoeuf
A French surname meaning “the ox,” originally a nickname or house sign based on the animal.
The #9,289 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 88,112 Americans shares it.
Etymology
LeBoeuf is the French phrase meaning “the ox,” from le “the” + boeuf/boeuf “ox, bull.” As a surname, it most likely began as a nickname, a house or inn sign, or a label for someone associated with the animal in some way. The older sources you provided simply list the name among French surnames, which fits this straightforward animal-name origin.
History
The name is established in French surname tradition and appears in 19th-century surname lists alongside other French forms beginning with Le-. In modern usage it is also found in French-speaking families and in francophone diaspora communities, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Boeuf is the same word family that gives English the culinary term “beef,” through French influence.
From the historical record
“Leveridge — Fr. Labric, Lebreck. {Wald, power) French Lavault, Lebeault. (Ulf, wolf) Old German Laibulf, 8th cent. — French Lebuffe, Leboeuf. The sense of acquisitiveness may perhaps be foiuid in the root arg, arc, ere, which Graff refers”
— The Teutonic Name-System applied to the family names of France, England and Germany