What’s In A Name: Sophie-Anne LeClerq

We’re already up to number twelve in our series of articles examining the meanings behind the names of characters on True Blood! For previous articles looking at Sookie, Eric, Alcide, Tara, Bill, Arlene, Lafayette, Sam, Pam, Crystal & Russell click here.

Sophie-Anne LeClerq

The “teenage” vampire Queen of Louisiana has a name so French, it almost seems fake, doesn’t it? And yet somehow I think that’s her real name. Sophie is the French form of Sophia, which means “wisdom” in Greek. It’s a popular name for female royalty in Europe and Britain, as is Anne. Another Franco-version, Anne comes from the Greek Channah, later Anna, meaning “favored grace”. Two names steeped in royal tradition, traced back to ancient Greek, lend an air of sophistication to the Queen.

Here’s where the twist comes in: although it sounds rather elegant, LeClerq appears to be a version of the Le Clerc, the French word for “clerk”. As in, a lowly office or shop worker. So we have two regal first names, followed by a surname that possibly denotes Sophie-Anne’s family origins. Many surnames derived from either professions or locations of families, usually the father, so it seems likely that centuries-old Sophie-Anne is descended from clerks. Perhaps her father or grandfather worked for the French royal family?

Next week: Reader’s choice. Whose name do you want examined next?