Turcotte
A French surname most likely built from a personal nickname or older place-name element, now especially associated with French-Canadian families.
The #6,647 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 60,633 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Turcotte is a surname of French form, but its exact origin is not fully settled. It is often treated as a French family name that may go back to a nickname or to a regional place-name element; the ending -otte is a familiar French diminutive form. In practice, the name is best understood as a French surname that entered widespread use in francophone areas, especially in Canada.
History
The name is found mainly among French-speaking populations, particularly in Quebec and other French-Canadian communities, where many French surnames were preserved and carried across generations. In North America it is usually associated with francophone migration and settlement rather than with a single famous origin point. Because the early documentary trail is not clear enough to support one firm derivation, its deeper medieval history remains uncertain.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In North America, Turcotte is much more often encountered as a French-Canadian surname than as a recent immigrant name from France.