User-submitted Reference

Priol

This surname comes from the Breton, priol, meaning 'prior' (as in: a help in a Catholic monastery. As they were not monks themselves, they could have children).

Prioul

In some parts of Brittany, the letter "o" is pronounced /u/ in Breton (the "oo" sound in English), which is transcribed "ou" in French. Some French-speaking enumerators then transcribed the name with an "ou" instead of an "o".

Prioux/Priou

There are two historic main linguistic zones in Brittany: the Breton-speaking zone, in western Brittany, and the Gallo-speaking zone, in eastern Brittany. Gallo is a dialect mixing Breton and Oil-French, an ancient French dialect that used to be spoken all across northern France. Prioux/Priou is basically exactly the same word than Priol, but in Gallo.

"Le" particle

The "Le" was added later, at the time of the first censuses, during the French Revolution. Most of the enumerators spoke French by then, and when one saw a newly father coming to register the birth of their newborn child, they used to say "here comes the [insert original surname here] guy", in French "Voilà le [insert original surname here]". Years passed, and lots of breton surnames had a "Le" particle added, sometimes removed years later, as prefix. "Le Priol" and "Le Prioux" are no exception to that rule.