What was her Maiden Name?

[urhb]

Can someone please tell me what the maiden name for Eleanor of Aquitaine was? I have looked everywhere on the net that I could think of but do not find an actual fathers name anywhere. I believe it may be “Dangereuse” but cannot be certain.

“of Aquitaine” is reference to duchy but is not in my understanding her actual “maiden” name.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

She was the daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine. Dangereuse appears to have been her grandmother.

Eleanor of Aquitaine

The eldest of three children, her father was William X, Duke of Aquitaine, and her mother was Aenor de Châtellerault, the daughter of Aimeric I, Vicomte of Chatellerault and a woman named Dangereuse. William and Aenor’s marriage had been arranged by his father and her mother, as Dangereuse was the long-time mistress of William IX of Aquitaine, the Troubador. Eleanor was named after her mother and called Aliénor, which means “other Aenor”, but it became “Eleanor” in English.

Would a Duke of that period have a last name in the modern sense? Wouldn’t he just be William of Aquitaine?

[silenus]

De Poitiers

[silenus]

Hit the wrong button.

Her grandfather was William IX De Poitiers Duke of Aquitaine. That’s about the closest you are going to get to a surname during that time period.

[urhb]

@silenus

Hit the wrong button.

Her grandfather was William IX De Poitiers Duke of Aquitaine. That’s about the closest you are going to get to a surname during that time period.

So then De Poitiers would also be a locale similar to Aquitaine then.

I understand the reference to the surname during that time period since surnames sometimes reflected a profession correct?

[RealityChuck]

Noble “surnames” usually indicated the location they ruled. “De Poitiers” means his estate was in the area of Poitiers. (I’m sure you know the “de” in a French name indicates nobility).

[Mississippienne]

Strictly speaking, Eleanor has no maiden name. Surnames as we know them didn’t really exist at that time, and people’s names were much more fluid than ours are today. Btw, her second husband’s surname wasn’t really “Plantagenet” either. That’s his father’s nickname, which was retroactively applied to the entire family hundreds of years later.

If you have any genealogical questions about Eleanor of Aquitaine, I’m sure I can help you. Medieval genealogy is one of my passions.

[urhb]

@RealityChuck

Noble “surnames” usually indicated the location they ruled. “De Poitiers” means his estate was in the area of Poitiers. (I’m sure you know the “de” in a French name indicates nobility).

RealityChuck - thanks for the input. I didn’t know that the “de” in a French name indicated nobility. I had assumed wrong that it meant “of”. Appreciate the input.

[urhb]

@Mississippienne

Strictly speaking, Eleanor has no maiden name. Surnames as we know them didn’t really exist at that time, and people’s names were much more fluid than ours are today. Btw, her second husband’s surname wasn’t really “Plantagenet” either. That’s his father’s nickname, which was retroactively applied to the entire family hundreds of years later.

If you have any genealogical questions about Eleanor of Aquitaine, I’m sure I can help you. Medieval genealogy is one of my passions.

Mississippienne - thanks for the clarification! This entire question was an assignement for one the our kids in Jr. High where the Teacher gave the students names of famous individuals from history and asked them to find the surname of the person and write a poem including the surname. I made the mistake of telling him it wouldn’t be hard to find. Boy was I ever wrong. Going to be waiting to hear from his Teacher on what the surname is…