Bousquet

This is one of THE most interesting surnames. Recorded as Bocquet, Bouquet, Bouquain, Bouquet, Bourquerel, Bousquet, and probably others, it is a medieval French surname of very interesting origins. Not surprisingly it is a nickname, but not one derived from the word ''bouquet'', which described something pretty and sweet smelling - but the very opposite! It is from ''bouc'' or ''boc'' meaning ''billy goat'' and with the diminutive ''-et'' - ''Little billy goat'', an animal that has few redeeming features, - except that of eating anything that grows. Medieval nicknames often meant the very opposite of what they appeared to describe, but there is little doubt that in the 14th century being called ''Little billy goat'' would have meant just that! Sadly France although one of the early pioneers in the registration of births, deaths and marriages, also had a bad habit of destroying them. Between circa 1580 and 1750 the country was riddled by outbreaks of religious civil war between the Catholics and the protestant Huguenots, and church registers were regularly seized by one side or the other to identify members of the opposition. In 1792 those that were left were generally seized and burnt by the revolting revolutionaries as ''pernicious records of the kings secret police'', setting a trend for all revolutionaries of destroying artifacts, which has continued to this day. Confirmation of the meaning is given by the blazon of the coat of arms. Bouquet du Bucquet, from the department of Vaud has a gold field charged with a black goat on a hill. Pretty conclusive then. The ''s'' in the spelling as Bousquet may down to poor spelling or an attempt to distance itself from ''bouquet''. The blazon of Bousquet of Gascony is traditional, being a silver field charged with three black chevrons, - a sign of authority.