Menault

Recorded in many forms including Meneur, Meneux, Menat, Menaud, Menaul(t), Menauteau, and possibly others, this is probably a surname of French origins. If so it derives from the pre 10th century Olde French word "meneur" meaning a teacher or tutor, although there is a possibility that for some nameholders at least, that the Breton word "menez" meaning a mountain, could be responsible. That is particulary so if the name in any form is found in the British Isles, as Brittany was closely associated with the famous Huguenot protestant movement of the 17th century, and many Bretons fled to Britain at that time and later. Surnames of occupation usually did not become hereditary until a son or even a grandson followed the original father into the same line of business or profession, as shown by the various diminutive and patronymic endings such as -eux, -aux, and -aul(t), associated with this name. French surname recordings in particular, are very erratic when compared with similar British and German lists. However we have been able to find a number of representative examples from the post medieval period including: Henri Menauteau, the son of Jacques, christened at St-Pierre-les-Calais, Pas de Calais on August 30th 1667, Vincent Menault, who married Marguerite Duroze, at St. Florentin Ambois, Indre-et-Loire, on March 1st 1707, and Antoine Menaud, a witness at Pagny-sur-Moselle, Meurthe et Moselle, on February 19th 1715.