What’s In A Name: The Bellefleurs

This is part thirteen 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 & Sophie-Anne, click here.

The Bellefleurs

Last week Bethany suggested combining family members when possible, since they have the same surname so that part of individual posts would be redundant. Brilliant! Bon Temps has a lot of Bellefleurs, so we’ll start with them.

Bellefleur is obviously French. It’s a compound word: belle, meaning “beautiful”, and fleur, meaning “flower”. The surname’s meaning, then, is beautiful flower. Sweet, but what does that really tell us about the family? Looking behind the meaning to the origins tells us that the Bellefleurs are of French descent. They are a prominent family in Bon Temps, and if the show follows the books’ genealogy, then the Bellefleurs have lived in the area for more than 200 years. We may be given some further family history on True Blood this season as two new members of the family are introduced, and I suspect we’ll discover that the family immigrated from France in the 18th century to make their fortune in the New World.

Andy, Portia, & Terry Bellefleur

Terry has quickly become a beloved character on True Blood, enjoying an expanded role over the books. We don’t know for sure if Terry is his full first name or a shortened version, but either way its origins are the Old Germanic name Theodoric, which means “ruler of the people” or “power of the tribe”. At first glance this doesn’t seem to fit gentle, troubled Terry, yet he does wield some power over those around him. His sweet nature, his wisdom, and his war experience give him an air of quiet authority.

Andy is short for Andrew, derived from the Greek Andreas which means “manly”. This manliness refers to the duties of a male in the patriarchal society of ancient Greece: to protect his home and family. (The name is sometimes translated as ”warrior.”) Not only does he feel a sense of duty to protect his family, Andy is in law enforcement, formally charged with protecting Bon Temps and the surrounding parish. He may have blanched at some of the supernatural encounters he’s had, but Andy is staying the course and committed to his duty as Bon Temps’ protector.

Two new members of the Bellefleur family join us this season, the first of whom is Portia, sister to Andy and cousin of Terry. With such an elegant sounding name, I’m sure Portia would be disappointed to learn that its origins are the Latin word for “pig” (Porcus). Not flattering, but the name has a history of belonging to strong women, including Brutus’ wife and one of Shakespeare’s greatest heroines, a woman who disguises herself as a male lawyer to plead for her husband’s life in The Merchant of Venice. We haven’t seen Portia Bellefleur in action yet, but we know she’s a lawyer, like her Shakespearean namesake. I think we can expect to hear a powerful speech from her at some point this season.

The fourth member of the family who we’ll meet this season is matriarch Caroline. She is the grandmother of Andy, Portia, and Terry, and considered the leader of Bon Temps old families. Her name is also traced back to an Old Germanic word, ceorl, meaning “Freeholder”. What is a Freeholder? Someone who owns a piece of land outright, and has the right to lease, rent or sell as he or she pleases. This would support the theory that the Bellefleurs are an old, landed family in Louisiana. They may not be extremely wealthy now, but they likely own land that has been in the family for centuries.