Le Cornu

Le Cornu is a surname originally of French origin, and in particular from Calvados and the area around Bayeux.^[1] It has a number of variants, including 'Cornu', 'Lecornue', 'Lecornu' and 'Cornut'.^[1] Tosti comments that it was 'a name that some bearers found difficult to wear as it immediately and incontrovertibly evoked a horned person, or a cuckold'. However, this has been challenged by M.T. Morlet who comments that this identification of horns with a husband who has been cheated on only came into being at the end of the Middle Ages.^[2] The discussion continues, although Tosti accepts Dauzat's view that the idea of a cuckold is found from the 13th century onwards and that 'it is this interpretation which will undoubtedly stand the test of time'.^[3]

The variant 'Lecorne' is found in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais (Hauts de France) area of France where a feminine form 'Lacorne' is also found. In this case, while also carrying the meaning of 'horned person' it is understood to refer to a horn or trumpet player, which in turn indicates a rather naive individual.^[4]

From the 15th century onwards, it has been a common surname in the Channel Islands, most notably in Jersey where it remains strongly identified with the island.^[5][6] Possibly the oldest record of a Le Cornu family in Jersey is that of Jean Le Cornu (1480 - ?).^[7]

Notable people with the surname include:

• Craig Le Cornu (born 1960), English football player
• Léon Lecornu (1854–1940), French engineer and physicist
• Patrice Lecornu (1958–2023), French football player
• Sébastien Lecornu (born 1986), French politician and prime minister

See also

• Ogier & Le Cornu, a law firm merged into the Ogier Group
• Cornu (disambiguation)