When I have finished reading a novel, I always write down all family names which occur in it because I would like to ask the author how and why she or he has chosen these names. There occur 35 family names in Pride and Prejudice, but I can no longer ask Jane Austen those questions. I can only guess what she had in mind. Here is what my guesses, fortified by a little research on the Internet, produced.
The name which struck me first was DeBourgh, because the word Bourgh as in Cherbourgh is the French equivalent of the English Burgh as in Edinburgh. If the name DeBourgh refers to a French ancestry of the husband of the Lady DeBourgh it cannot mean “we are aristocrats from a Bourgh” (Burgh) because in French, they would have been named “DuBourgh”. More likely is the interpretation “we are aristocrats from a French town of Bourgh”, hence “DeBourgh”.
Bourg-sur-Gironde, Image from Wikipedia.
Does a French town named Bourgh, or Bourg exist? Yes, it does! It is “Bourg sur Gironde” on the river Garonne and is located approximately 10 miles North of Bordeaux [1]. Hence my guess is that the town was originally named Bourgh and that the DeBourghs were a noble French family of which some members had moved to England.
Next it occurred to me that the 35 family names could logically be arranged in two groups. Group 1 contains the names of the aristocrats. DeBourgh, Darcy, and Fitzwilliam. Group 2 contains the names of the commoners [2]. I guess that Jane Austen had made those choices deliberately. The only French-sounding names were assigned by her to two of the noble families of the novel! Could Darcy, like DeBourgh, also be of French origin? Then there had to be a town named Arcy in France. Well, there is! The town of Arcy is located WSW of Paris near Versailles. In French, De-Arcy which means from Arcy would have been shortened to D’Arcy.
If the families DeBourgh and D’Arcy (later changed to Darcy) had come from France when and how had the first DeBourgh or Darcy emigrated? I had to go to the Internet to try my luck. I found the following in an article by Sharon Latham. According to her there had existed a French nobleman Richard D’arcy who had joined William the Conqueror’s army, had sailed with William to England, and had fought for him at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Under the existing economic system William became the owner of every square inch of land of England when he became King of England. It was in his interest, and it was common practice at the time, to make nobles his vassals by loaning them tracts of land. Apparently, William bequeathed large tracts of land to Sir Richard D’Arcy, among others in Dorset where Jane Austen located Pemberton. Eventually the most powerful nobles ignored their vassalage and declared that they owned their lands outright.
Today many Darcy’s live in Ireland. It is not fully clear to me why, how, and when they moved there but, in 1320, King Edward II sent Sir John D’Arcy as Lord Justice and General Governor to Ireland.
A second item on the Internet (in “Jane Austen in Vermont”) mentions a connection between the families of DeBourgh and Darcy. In 1329 there was a marriage of a John Darcy 1st Lord of Knaith with Joan De Burgh (the o was apparently dropped) whose father was Richard de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster.
I am sure that there are numerous additional Internet and other studies on DeBourgh and Darcy from Pride and Prejudice done by real experts. I was satisfied that the two studies which I had consulted produced a sufficiently rational explanation for Jane Austin’s choice of two French-sounding names for the two noble families of her novel to set them apart from the commoners. Whether she knew the histories of these families, which existed in England at her time, I leave to the experts to debate.
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[1] There is also a French town named “Le Bourg” 50 miles North of Toulouse. The reason why I have chosen Bourg sur Gironde for my guesses is its location in Aquitaine. After Eleanor of Aquitaine died the region was ruled by English Kings for about 300 years.
[2] Mr. Bennett is a “gentleman” but not an earl.
Genealogical Charts of the Characters in Pride and Prejudice, The Republic of Pemberley. Scroll down the page to find the charts.
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Dr. Heymann, Image courtesy Rice University
About the author, Dr Dieter Heymann:
Dr. Heymann was born in Germany and received his M.S. and Ph.D. at the University of Amsterdam, Nederland. Today he is Professor Emeritus, Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences. Research areas: cosmochemistry, conditions in the early solar system, origin of elements, causes of elemental and isotopic inhomogeneities in the solar nebula.
Jane Austen's World 
It’s immaterial whether Sir Richard D’arcy was awarded large tracts of land in Dorset. Jane Austen located Pemberley in Derbyshire, not Pemberton in Dorset.
Also, Darcy was a gentleman not a nobleman (or member of the peerage). He did not have a title, so he was a rung below the nobility. Wealthy members of the landed gentry often married into the nobility, but there was distinction between noblemen and gentlemen. Darcy was not a peer of the realm, and Lady Catherine’s husband may not have been either. The style ‘Sir’ is applied to barons and baronets. A baron is a peer, but a baronet is not.
Correct Prudence. Also the name Fizgerald does not appear; it’s Fitzwilliam. Darcy’s mother was Lady Anne and her sister was Lady Catherine. They were both daughters of the Earl Fitzwilliam so were Lady in their own right. Lady Anne Darcy was married to a Mr Darcy and retained her title as her birthright.
Thank you for your correction, Anna, which I changed. Much obliged. I spoke to someone who is knowledgeable about this topic regarding my own family, whose ancestors were mere Misters, but who, over the centuries lost their title and fortune. We shall never know about the Darcy name, but I enjoyed Dr. Heymann’s foray into researching the origins of the Darcys and de Bourghs in England.
Hi Vic. I love articles about the origins of names. I remember at school when I was a mere whippersnapper (Ha! )Ha!) in history lessons we often discussed the origins of names, of places in particular, but also family names. If you look at a map of the Uk there are the Saxon names, the Norman names and what used to excite us lot were all the Roman names. When the Normans under William the Conquerors invaded in 1066 most of the lands of the aristocracy were taken over by the Normans with French names hence D’arcy,Fitzwilliam etc, the Fitz bit referring to the bastard son of a lord or King . London originates from a Roman name Londinium. Southampton, where I come from, has Saxon origins. the “hampton,” bit meaning town. the south bit is obvious. Its a really interesting subject.I even remember at the age of five discussing this stuff!!
Just remembered. You might like to know a funny story about the Saxon site of Southampton. The Saxons called it Hamwic which evolved to Hamptun and eventually Hampton. When the new football stadium for Southampton FC was being constructed next to the Itchen River they discovered a Saxon graveyerd with many skeletons under the site of one of the goalposts. As far as I know he skeletons are still their putting off and haunting opposing teams!! Well I think its funny anyway.
We have de Burghs in Ireland who have been here since 1170. They are particularly associated with the town of Naas in County Kildare. Chris de Burgh, the singer is a well known de Burgh on his mother’s side. Given all the links between the Austen family and Ireland, this may be where you need to look!
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Very interesting blog — and the “Frenchness” of the DeBourgh and Darcy names certainly indicate the different status of the DeBourgh and Darcy families. Whether it indicates that the difference is one of aristocrat versus commoner is debatable, I think. For a start, Darcy is explicitly identified as a gentleman, but not a nobleman (in other words, a commoner) by Lady Catherine herself. In other words, he is, in terms of status, no different from Mr. Bennet — exactly as Elizabeth Bennet claims. The big difference, in my opinion, is not status but money — both Darcy and the DeBourgh’s are defined through their wealth— the money Sir Lewis DeBourgh spent on the windows at Rosings, the Palladian mansion of Pemberley with the lake in front— all are cultural indications that these are new buildings in new styles — and perhaps from new money. Is it significant that Pemberley is situated In Derbyshire (not Dorset as you state) — one of the Midland counties where coal was discovered and the Industrial Revolution began? Is it possible that the Darcy wealth had it’s origins In coal, just as Darcy’s friend Bingley has wealth derived from trade? I think there are suggestions of this In the book. I would also add that the Bennet family at Longbourn ( note the old English names) farm their own land (nite the carriage horses are also used for ploughing) and their estate is restricted by an entail — a legal device that dates back to the Middle Ages and which had become nearly moribund by the late 18th century.
In other words, what I think we are looking at in Pride and Prejudice is not just a tension between classes, but a tension between the “old” money of estate management (which was losing economic ground in the 18th century) and “new money” based on trade and industrial investment (the economic basis of society by the 19thcentury).
My Irish grandmother’s maiden name was Grace derived from the French de Grasse.
An admiral of that name commanded the French fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake in the last year of the American Revolution.
“the money Sir Lewis DeBourgh spent on the windows at Rosings, the Palladian mansion of Pemberley with the lake in front— all are cultural indications that these are new buildings in new styles — and perhaps from new money. ”
That may be true in a few cases, and Derbyshire was a coal producing area and hence a new source of wealth.The aristocracy turned to coalmining, slavery etc for their wealth. In many cases it was families with old money adapting to new sources of wealth.. If you take Chatsworth House which has been used as Pemberley in films it definitely has the Palladian style but houses like that are seldom of one period. Chatsworth developed and changed. Sometimes the same family over generations. Every period brought its own changes and developments. These great houses were first begun mostly in Tudor Times, Henry VII onwards. The Wars of The Roses ended at Bosworth Field. Nobody knew that at the time. Henry Tudor was desperate to hold on to power and keep his family on the throne. Castles were banned. Castles being military strongholds. The aristocracy then changed their interests to building grand houses and estates.
As a French national and a genealogist I seldom read such a drivel. The Arcy and Bourg are two old noble families of France who indeed made it both to England and later to Ireland. The Bourg from Normandy came with the Conqueror. The Arcy the following century. Both had established branches in Ireland by the 13th and the spelling of the name has of course changed.
In French, and anyone with any knowledge of how to refer to an aristocratic name never mention the “de”, be it orally or in writing.
What a shame, Alix de Ramaix. It seems like you have good knowledge to share here, but you only offer it in a manner intended to insult the author. Anyone with any knowledge of manners would never be so snarky, be it orally or in writing.
Fascinating research.
denise
Interesting! I’ve seen this in a lot of 19th century novels — families with French names as a sign of status. The ultimate test is being able to trace one’s family back to the Conqueror (or rather, one of his companions/fellow invaders). Sometimes families will “Frenchify” their names somewhat as a form of posturing. If I remember right, this is a plot point in Tess of the d’Urvervilles — whether, her last name being Durbeyfield, she is actually a descendent of the illustrious Norman family, the d’Urbervilles. Ironically, the people posing as the actual d’Urbervilles turn out to have usurped that name. In P and P, I wonder if the name “Darcy”, as originally French but less obviously so, indicates that Darcy is less snobbish about his lineage than the more obviously (pretentiously?) french-sounding De Bourghs.
Yes Ben you are right about Tess of the D’urbervilles. Hardy’s novels were my first love in English Lit. Austen is deeply intelligent but Hardy got the passions of a young teenage me by the short and curlys!!