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'azur à la croix recr. d'or; au chef de gu., ch. de trois étoiles du sec.”
A record of documented arms, meaning and origin, researched for the Lavergne family of France.
J. B. Rietstap, Armorial Général, Gouda: G. B. van Goor Zonen, 1884–87
Blazon (the actual original written record)“D'azur à la croix recr. d'or; au chef de gu., ch. de trois étoiles du sec.”

The Lavergne arms were recorded in Languedoc, c. 1663.
Languedoc stretched across the south of France, a country of small towns, vineyards and old local families. Its gentry were numerous rather than grand, and a great many of them held arms even where their estates were modest.
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 Lavergne originates from the Occitan-speaking region of southern France, specifically within the historic province of Languedoc. The name is topographic in nature, derived from the word "vergne," which refers to the black alder tree that commonly grows in damp, marshy soil. Families who adopted this name likely lived near a grove of these trees or a riverbank where the vegetation was thick. By 1663, records confirm that members of the Lavergne family were well-established in the Languedoc area, living as part of the rural society that defined the region during the seventeenth century. These early ancestors were likely farmers or tradespeople whose daily lives were closely tied to the local landscape and the specific geography of the French countryside.
Derived from the Gaulish word for the alder tree.
