Talk:Cuvillier

French vs of French origin

IMO a "French surname" is one used in France or by French people. A "surname of French origin" is a surname which originated among people who spoke French, or lived in France, but may be used in any foreign country nowadays. Since there are several Canadians and at least one American (English-speaking) entry, "of French origin" describes the matter best. I think an encyclopedia gains with clarification, and should avoid ambiguity or misunderstandings. Kraxler (talk) 16:50, 20 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

When I see "x surname" in the lede I take it to mean "x-language surname" and not place of origin. We categorize surnames by language and not culture. If my surname is Tanaka and I emigrate from Japan, the surname doesn't suddenly become "of Japanese origin", it's still Japanese. The only use for the origin categories that I see would be something like an Italian surname that's derived from a Spanish word or name, as that would definitely be of Spanish origin.

However, technically the article shouldn't be mentioning language or anything else without a reliable source attached. Random example: Le Gall claims to be both a Breton-language surname and of Breton origin. Says who? That's not something I want to enforce though; too much work and I'll encounter too much resistance from doing it. —Xezbeth (talk) 09:45, 21 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]