Defaux is a surname popular in Belgium and northeastern France.
Like its cognates/variants De Fauw and Faux, it could derive from fou, fau (Old French for "beech"); be a toponymic surname indicating origin from a place called Faux or Faulx (possibly Faulx-les-Tombes in Wallonia, Belgium; Faux, Court-Saint-Étienne, Belgium; Wavrechain-sous-Faulx in the Nord department; a commune in Pas-de-Calais, or one in the Ardennes) or derive from the adjective "faux" (Middle French: "faulx").
The etymology of the place names in Belgium is ultimately from Latin fagus ("beech") via Old French fou, fau, or from Germanic *falisa, "cliff".
Notable people with the name include:
Alexandre Defaux (1826–1900), French artist Gérard Defaux (1937–2004), French American writer Joseph Defaux (1861–1931), Belgian representative and mayor
See also Faux (surname) de Fauw (surname)
References