Poirier

Etymology

Poirier is the French word for a pear tree. It goes back to French poire, “pear,” from Latin pirum, “pear,” with the tree-forming ending -ier. As a surname, it likely began as a topographic or habitational name for someone who lived near a notable pear tree or pear orchard.

History

Historical surname dictionaries note Poirier as a French name and compare it with related forms such as Perrier and the Norman Peirier. It is also attested in regional and dialect forms, showing how local speech shaped surname spellings. In North America, the name is especially familiar in French-Canadian and Acadian families, where many French surnames were preserved.

Origin

Regions

Variant spellings

Fun fact

Some older writers linked Poirier with surnames based on other fruit trees, like Pommier and Delaunay, as part of a wider pattern of tree-and-landscape surnames.

Related surnames