Faux or Faulx is a surname, ultimately from Latin ''fagus'' ("

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

"). The English surname is of

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

origin. The Belgian "Faux" and its variants could derive from the adjective ''faux'' (

Middle French Middle French (french: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from t ...

: ''faulx''), "false", but they are most likely

toponymic surnames A toponymic surname or topographic surname is a surname derived from a place name.

. "Faux" is a variant of "Faulx", and "Faut" is another variant from either one of them. Cognates and variants include "Defau", "Defaut", "Defauw", "Defauwe" and "De Fauwe". The Belgian surnames could refer to Faux in

Court-Saint-Étienne Court-Saint-Étienne (; wa, Coû-Sint-Stiene) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On 1 January 2006 Court-Saint-Étienne had a total population of 9,408. The total area is which gives a population ...

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

, or

Faulx-les-Tombes Faulx-les-Tombes ( wa, Få-les-Tombes) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Gesves, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Remains of Roman settlements have been discovered in the area, which was settled already dur ...

, also in Wallonia. The etymology is ultimately from Latin ''fagus'', via

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...

''fou'', ''fau'' ( Walloon: ''faw''), "beech". The etymology could also be from Germanic ''*falisa'', "

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

". In France the surname is present in the North East, but it is also popular in the South West. Surnames from the latter place likely derive from another place called "Faux" (probably

Faux Faux may refer to: People *Faux (surname) Places Places in Belgium * Faux, a village in the Belgian commune of Court-Saint-Étienne Places in France * Faux, Ardennes, French commune of the Ardennes department * Faux, Dordogne, French commune of t ...

in Dordogne). The etymology is always from Latin ''fagus''.

People with the surname Faux

Catherine Faux Catherine Faux is a British professional triathlete. 2013 Ironman World Championship Faux finished 10th overall (including professionals) at the 2013 Ironman World Championship and was the top female age grouper. This performance set the course ...

, British triathlete * Jean Marie Faux, SJ, Jesuit author and professor from Brussels, former general secretary of the Belgian MRAX *

Jeff Faux Jeff Faux (born Geoffrey Faux in New York City) is the principal founder of the Economic Policy Institute and was its first president, from 1986 to 2002. He is now the Institute's Distinguished Fellow and also serves on its board of directors. Fau ...

, principal founder and first president (1986–2002) of the Economic Policy Institute

People with the surname Faut

Corinne Faut Corinne Faut (born 10 May 1960) is a Belgian general. From 2009 to 2014, she was Director General of the Royal Higher Institute for Defence (), the highest military academy of the Belgian Army. She was promoted to Brigadier general in 2014. She was ...

, Belgian general *

Ernest Faut Ernest Faut (27 January 1879 – 17 October 1961) was a Flemish - Belgian painter. He was a draftsman, painter and lithographer of decorative works, landscapes, interiors, psychological portraits, religious scenes, churches and beguinages. Life ...

, Flemish painter

References

{{reflist Surnames of Belgian origin Surnames of French origin Toponymic surnames