Surname Plante - Meaning and Origin

A DNA Journey: The Unexpected Roots and Routes of the Surname 'Plante'

Unravelling the mysteries of my lineage through the recent iGENEA DNA test, I was stunned by my ancestral connection to diverse regions globally. From the expected French ties linked to my surname Plante, to the surprising Jewish-Sephardic, Middle Eastern, Italian, and Spanish influences, the newfound knowledge of my DNA has stitched together pieces of a grand historical tapestry that has given me a fresh understanding of my roots and identity.

F. Plante

Plante: What does the surname Plante mean?

The last name Plante is of French origin and it literally translates to "plant" in English. The name could have originally been an occupational surname for a nurseryman, gardener, or someone who cultivated plants. Alternatively, it may have been a topographic name for someone who lived near a conspicuous bush or hedged parcel of land. It could also reflect a person being metaphorically compared to a plant, possibly relating to subtleties of a person's disposition or character. Surnames usually offered a way of identifying people by their trade, the place they lived, or by their father or ancestor. It's important to note that surnames have evolved over centuries and their present form and meaning could have deviated from their original association or interpretation.

Plante: Where does the name Plante come from?

The last name Plante is common mostly in Francophone regions, with France having the highest percentage of people with the last name. In recent decades, immigration has led to wider dispersion of the name to other countries with French-speaking populations, such as Canada, the United States, and Belgium.

In France, the Plante surname is concentrated in the country’s capital, Paris, and throughout the north-eastern region. The Plante name can also be found in south-western France where the Gascony region was historically influenced by the language and culture of neighboring Spanish-speaking regions.

In Canada, the Plante surname is most common in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, but the name is also present in other provinces like Alberta, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia. In the United States, the last name is particularly common in Louisiana, where most of the state’s French-speaking population originates from, and in the north-eastern states such as Massachusetts and New York.

Beyond these countries, the Plante surname is found in Mexican states with large French-speaking populations, as well as in Spain, Morocco, and Algeria. The name is also found in other countries with ties to French culture, such as Haiti, Madagascar, and the Seychelles.

Variations of the surname Plante

Plante is a surname of French origin, likely from the French word plante, meaning plant or vegetation. It is most common in France and also found in Canada and the United States, where it is sometimes Anglicized. Alternate spellings and variants of Plante include Plant, Plantes, Planta, Plantain, Plantier, Planté, Plantier, Planteur, and Plantive.

In France, the spelling of names in records was often imprecise and so the surname Plante could be written and recorded variously. Plante is also an habitational name, derived from any of the numerous places named with the same word.

In the United States, Plante has been adapted in various ways to fit the phonetic spelling conventions of English. Variations of Plante found in the US range from Plant, Plantain, and Planta to Planteau, Plantz, and Plaunt, among others.

Surnames derived from Plante may also have alternate spellings. For example, the French surname Plantier (meaning farmer or cultivator) may be spelled Planter, Plantar, and Plantour, among others. Plantive is a variant of Plante that originated in Canada, and can also be found in the US. Planté is a variation of Plantier, meaning the same.

In keeping with the eccentricities of the English language, Plante can also be found in various forms as a given name in the United States — Planta, Planta Mae, Plant, and Plantain, for example — although it is not as prevalent as in other countries.

Famous people with the name Plante

• Jacques Plante, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender and seven-time Stanley Cup Champion
• Bobby Plante, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman
• Bernie Plante, Canadian National Hockey League forward
• Jean Plante, Canadian National Hockey League forward
• Reid Plante, Canadian National Hockey League defenseman
• Michel Plante, Canadian National Hockey League forward
• Kody Plante, Major League Baseball relief pitcher
• René Plante, Canadian Football League defensive tackle
• Emile Plante, Canadian Football League tight end
• Lise Plante, Canadian Playwrights Award-winning playwright
• Thomas Plante, American mental health academic
• Paul Plante, Canadian National Hockey League goaltender
• Pauline Plante, Canadian artist
• Jean-Rene Plante, Canadian National Hockey League goaltender
• Marc Plante, Canadian National Hockey League forward
• Wilfred-Élie Plante, Canadian lawyer and socialist
• Jean Albert Plante, Canadian Roman Catholic prelate
• Yvon Plante, Canadian National Hockey League forward
• Coty Plante, Canadian Music Award-winning songwriter
• Jean-Guy Plante, Canadian politician
• Pierre Plante, French Revolutionary War naval officer
• Danny Plante, Canadian National Hockey League defenseman
• Gilles Plante, Canadian National Hockey League goaltender
• Mathieu Plante, Canadian National Hockey League forward
• Jean-Marc Plante, Canadian National Hockey League goaltender.

Other surnames

PlantPlantaPlantadePlantadisPlantagenetPlantamourPlantardPlantenerPlanterPlanterosePlantiePlantierPlantinetPlantnerPlantsPlanty