HomeFamily Name & Crest

The DuBois Name

DuBois — two syllables, French origin, meaning 'of the woods' or 'from the forest.' It is a name that has traveled centuries and crossed an ocean, and it has picked up a few pronunciation debates along the way.

The poem below has been shared in the DuBois family for generations. It tells the story of the name with good humor — and settles the pronunciation question once and for all.

The DuBois Name

Not putting much trust in the Edict of Nantes

Our Huguenot ancestors ran out of France.

Old Chrétien's offspring soon scattered afar,

All firmly convinced that their name was du Bwa.

But some stayed in Leyden and then, oh my gosh,

Translated the name to the Dutch Van der Bosch.

And some went to Scotland, the land of their choice,

Where clansmen corrupted their label to Boice.

But Louis and Jacques came across to New York,

Where Dutch, French and English all mingled their talk.

And ever since then, in this polyglot nation,

Folks ask us, 'Please, what's the right pronunciation?'

'Tis no longer du Bwa as so many suppose

And it is not Du Boys, and of course not Du Boze.

Du Boy is not right, nor is Du'Bois correct,

For the accent is not where some people suspect.

The Dubois Family Crest

The DuBois family crest has been carried across generations and across an ocean. Its elements speak to courage, faith, and the natural world — fitting symbols for a family that left everything behind to build something new.

The heraldic description of the DuBois arms, as recorded in America Heraldica:

ARMS:

Argent (silver), a lion rampant (rearing) sable (black) armed and langued gules (red).

The lion is the emblem of deathless courage. It is also considered to be the lively image of a good soldier, who 'must be valiant of courage, strong of body, politic in counsel and a foe to fear.'

CREST:

Between two tree stumps vert (green), the lion of the shield.

MOTTO:

Tiens ta foy — 'Hold to thy faith.'

The motto speaks directly to the experience of the Huguenots who bore this name. In a century when faith could cost you everything — your home, your livelihood, your life — 'Hold to thy faith' was not merely a heraldic inscription. It was the reason the DuBois family left France.