Mouton
A French surname from the word for “sheep,” often originally a nickname or name for a shepherd or wool-seller.
The #5,329 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 47,245 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Mouton is the French word for “sheep,” from Old French mouton, meaning a sheep or ram. As a surname, it could have begun as a nickname for someone thought to resemble a sheep, but more often it was probably an occupational or metonymic name connected with sheep-keeping, wool, or sheep trading. Some early surname collections also treat it simply as a French personal-name form, so the exact pathway may vary by family line.
History
The name is well established in French records and was also carried into English-speaking areas through Norman and later French influence. Historical surname lists from Britain and North America record it as a family name, and it remains especially familiar in French-speaking regions and in Louisiana. In English contexts it is sometimes glossed by writers as “mutton,” reflecting the same word family, though the surname itself is French in form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older French literature and surname lore, animal-based bynames like Mouton were common and could be either literal, occupational, or playful in origin.
From the historical record
“Mutimer. See Mortimer Mutton. From Motons ; a loc. n., Norm. N.-Fr. Mouton ; a p.n. Or see Mitton and Motton 1 Hugo de Mutton, Rot. Obi. et Fin. Jadin. Fr. Nadine ; a p.n. ; Slav¬”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)