Soigne

Recorded in several forms including Soigne, the diminutives Soignard and Soignot, the patronymic Soignies, and apparently in the British Channel Islands, the diminutive Soigoux, this is a surname of French and medieval origins. However spelt it is seemingly rare and in these spellings is not recorded in the standard book of French surnames known as the 'Dictionnaire etymologique des noms de famille de France'. In our opinion and based upon recordings and other records, it is a variant or transposed spelling of the surname Solignot or Soligot, which according to the dictionary was originally from the region of the departement of Nord-Est. This name is believed to be occupational and to describe a singer actor or in effect an opera singer, although it could also have been a nickname for a person who gave himself the perceived airs of a performer. Early examples of recordings taken from surviving French church registers, most were destroyed during the Revolution of 1792, include Dudant Soignies, a christening witness at Omunt in the Ardennes, on April 3rd 1685, and Charles Soigne, a christening witness at St Germain-en-Laye, Seine -et-Oise, on January 19th 1768.