Last name origin & meaning: English, German, Dutch, French (Noé, Noë),
Spanish (Noé), Catalan (Noè): from the Biblical
personal name Noach ‘Noah’, which means ‘comfort’ in
Hebrew. According to the Book of Genesis, Noah, having been forewarned
by God, built an ark into which he took his family and representatives
of every species of animal, and so was saved from the flood that God
sent to destroy the world because of human wickedness. The personal
name was not common among non-Jews in the Middle Ages, but the
Biblical story was an extremely popular subject for miracle plays. In
many cases, therefore, the surname probably derives from a nickname
referring to someone who had played the part of Noah in a miracle play
or pageant, rather than from a personal name.
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