Where does “Le Pen” come from?
Le Pen (French) comes from Breton penn, from Middle Breton penn, from Old Breton penn, from Proto-Brythonic penn, from Proto-Celtic kʷennom — head.
Ancestry of “Le Pen”, step by step
Le Pen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Breton penn
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Breton | penn | head; chief, leader |
| 2 | Middle Breton | penn | — |
| 3 | Old Breton | penn | — |
| 4 | Proto-Brythonic | penn | head |
| 5 | Proto-Celtic | kʷennom | head |
via French lé
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | lé | breadth, width; strip, length |
| 2 | French | moine | monk |
| 3 | Middle French | moine | monk |
| 4 | Old French | monie | monk |
| 5 | Latin | monicus | sporadically attested in early Christian inscriptions from Gaul |
Words derived from “Le Pen”