LaBarge
A French-looking surname most likely built from a place-name or descriptive byname beginning with la- and Barge.
The #9,890 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 94,418 Americans shares it.
Etymology
LaBarge is most likely a French surname formed from the definite article la plus a place-name or local feature name such as Barge. In French surnames, this kind of construction often points to someone identified by a homestead, estate, hamlet, or geographic feature rather than a direct occupation. The literal sense is therefore usually “the Barge” or “from Barge,” though the exact source place can be hard to pin down without a specific family line.
History
The form is especially familiar in North America, where French and French-Canadian surnames were often preserved with the article attached. Spellings with an initial capital B after La- are common in such surnames, even when the original French form may have been written with a lower-case article. Because the name is relatively uncommon, family histories can differ on whether it reflects a specific French place-name or a localized surname pattern carried into Canada and then the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Names with attached articles like La-, Le-, and De- are a classic clue to French surname formation, especially in North America.