Noble surnames, such as Desai, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the French people. The original bearer of the name Desai, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of Lorraine. In France, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. The Desai family originally lived at the town of Paresse or Parez, in the Lorraine. Although one would at first assume that the name is derived from the city of Paris, evidence suggests that the names of both the town in the Lorraine and the French capital are derived from a Gaulish tribe called the Parisii.
The surname Desai was first found in Lorraine, where the family was first established and expanded into one of the more notable families of the region.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Desai research. Another 48 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1795, 1810, and 1875 are included under the topic Early Desai History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations of this family name include: Deshaies, Deshais, De'Hay, DeHaye, Dehaye, Dehays, Deshayes, Desaix, Desai and many more.
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Desai Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Susanne Deshais, who settled in Carolina in 1695; Robert Desha, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850.