Fontel

Recorded in the spellings of De la Font, Font, Hont, Lafont, Fuente, Fuentez, Lafuente, Safont, and in many other forms, this is a Provencal (French) and Catalan (Spanish) surname. It is similar to and has the same roots as the French surname 'Fontaine'. The name is residential, and derives from the pre Christian era Roman word 'fons', and describes somebody who lived by, or was responsible for, the village spring or well. This was an important status position in the medieval times and earlier, the provision of fresh water, often from one solitary source, being critical to the survival of the people. The Roman Empire controlled most of Europe for nearly one thousand years, and it is not surprising that their language (Latin) is the basis of most European languages, and hence the survival of words and subsequently surnames, from two thousand years ago. Examples of the surname recording taken at random from civil and church registers include Angelo Fuentes, born at Asuncion, Mexico, on March 19th 1663, Maria Teresa de la Fuente, christened at San Miguel Arcangel, Districto Federal, Mexico, on November 25th 1698, and Jacinta Font, christened at the same place on August 16th 1843. The coat of arms has the blazon of a blue field charged with a lion rampant proper, and a chief in gold. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hugo des Funteines, which was dated 1202, in the pipe rolls of the county of Kent, England, during the reign of King John of England, known as 'Lackland', 1199- 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.