Family name origins & meanings
- French (Besançon) : habitational name from Besançon in Doubs, which is probably named with a Celtiberian element ves ‘mountain’ + the suffix -unt, with a further Latin suffix -io (genitive -ionis). In folk etymology there has been some association with Old French bison, the (European) bison, which appears in the arms of the city.
- A Prélas or Prélat with the secondary surname Besançon was documented in Quebec city in 1759.