Do any one know what the significance would be to a surname prefixed by de? I am researching the sunrame Sumichrast which according to some records is Hungarian, others say Austrian and yet others Czecholovakian.Anyway I recently was searching the name and found some with the name de Sumichrast. Any information would be appreciated. Evelyn

And to add fuel to the fire.. In a 1901 News article from the North Adams Transcript North Adams Mass. A portion of the article shows.... "It is true that I am angry with M. De SUMICHRAST, who is, I am told, a Polish-Greek-Armenian-Hungarian, naturalized as an Englishman". I will forward you the article off list. cheryl BALOG wenberg From: EEH2198@aol.com To: HUNGARY-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 11:36 AM Subject: [HUNGARY-L] de as a prefix to surname Do any one know what the significance would be to a surname prefixed by de? I am researching the sunrame Sumichrast which according to some records is Hungarian, others say Austrian and yet others Czecholovakian.Anyway I recently was searching the name and found some with the name de Sumichrast. Any information would be appreciated. Evelyn

EEH2198@aol.com wrote: >Do any one know what the significance would be to a surname prefixed by de? > >I am researching the sunrame Sumichrast which according to some records is >Hungarian, others say Austrian and yet others Czecholovakian.Anyway I recently >was searching the name and found some with the name de Sumichrast. > >Any information would be appreciated. > >Evelyn > Hi Evelyn, it supposed to represent a class of nobility (of France), but in many cases it was just added to the name. The following excerpt is from: http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/noblesse.htm The "Particule" The "particule" (the word "de" between the given name and the family name) is often taken to be a sign of nobility. In fact, there are about 10,000 names in France that look noble (e.g., with the particle "de"), many more than are really noble. For example, the Laborde de Monpezat family (to which prince Henrik, prince consort of Denmark belongs) is not noble. Conversely, there are noble families without the particle in their name: a large number of Napoleonic and 19th c. titled names which have no "de" element; but also families of Old Regime nobility which did not bother to add a particule to their name. There are several examples among the old "noblesse de robe": Séguier, ennobled in 1544, Talon ennobled in 16th c., Molé. Joe Equinunk, PA - USA jjarfas@ezaccess.net --- [This E-mail scanned for viruses by ezaccess.net]