Recorded as Delagua, Dugue, Duguet, Gue, and probably others, this is a French surname. It is cognate with the English word and surname 'Ford', being residential, and describing somebody who lived by a shallow river crossing, or who may have come from a town or village of the same name. The derivation is from the Roman (Latin) word 'aqua' meaning water. Residential surnames were amongst the first to be created, although in the case of French names we have a problem, in that the majority of early church registers in the country were destroyed during the famous Revolution of 1792. At this time and for nearly ten years afterwards, the church itself was totally banned, and all were closed, and in most cases their registers and contents destroyed. As a result it is often quite difficult to find any early recordings to support our research. However we have been fortunate in this case. These early examples include Etienne Dugue who married Marie Cornilleau at St Doucelin Allones, in the department of Maine-et-Loire on February 17th 1678, Francois Gue, who was christened at Custines, Meurthe-et-Moselle, on February 4th 1757, and Jean Pierre Delagua, who married Anne Peyre at Cuxac-Cabardes, in the departement of Aude, on May 17th 1854.

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