Family name origins & meanings
- French : habitational name from any of various minor places named with French beau ‘lovely’, ‘fair’ + soleil ‘sun’, probably denoting a place that was exposed to the sun. This name has been translated as Prettyson, which in turn gave rise to the frequent version Peterson. It has also been rendered into English as Bosley.
- Beausoleil is recorded as a secondary name for Audirac, Besnard (1744), Derumé, Hengard (1736), Lepage, Maigré, Malbeuf, Moreau, Normandin, Quatrefage, Rousseau, Saunier, and Villat. It was first used independently around 1700.