Coat of Arms & Family Crest Details
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'or au chev. d'azur, acc. en chef de deux pommes de pin de sin. et en p. d'un ours de sa.”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Duprey family of France.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'or au chev. d'azur, acc. en chef de deux pommes de pin de sin. et en p. d'un ours de sa.”
The Duprey arms were recorded in Lorraine, c. 1626.
Lorraine sat on the border between France and the German lands, and border country bred soldiers. Families here held small estates and served in arms, and a fighting man was exactly the sort who carried a shield of his own.
This is where the arms were entered in the register. Families often moved to other parts of the country, so the same name can turn up in more than one region.
In France, a coat of arms was a mark of honor that passed down through the male line to all legitimate descendants. Families often used the same shield without changes to show their shared heritage. If a branch wanted to stand out, they could add a small mark to their shield to show their specific place in the family tree.
The family name Duprey traces its roots to the historic region of Lorraine in northeastern France. By 1626, records confirm that family members were already established in this area, which served as a cultural crossroads between French and Germanic influences. The name itself is a variation of the French phrase du pré, which translates to of the meadow. This suggests that the earliest ancestors were likely farmers or landowners who lived near a prominent field or pasture. During the seventeenth century, Lorraine was a territory defined by its rural landscapes and shifting political borders. Families like the Dupreys often lived in small, tight-knit village communities where their surname helped identify them by their specific geographic surroundings. Over time, the name became a permanent marker of their identity as they moved through the changing social and economic history of the region.
Derived from the Latin pratum meaning a meadow or field.
