Recorded in many spelling forms including Du Plant, Plante, Planter, Du Plantier, Plantis, Duplanty, etc. this is a French occupational surname. It derives from the Old French pre 10th century word 'plentive', and describes specifically a 'planter of wines'. It may be that the French love of fine wine helps to provide them with their enthusiasm for other close encounters, but whether that is so or not, what is true is that this surname has been recorded in all parts of the world where French influence has allowed any settlements to take place. Occupational surnames were usually the first to be recorded, although not necessarily the first to become hereditary, but the popularity of this surname underlines the importance of wine to the French population. This is also a Huguenot surname, it derives from Languedoc as does the coat of arms, an area from which many refugees left to start their lives elsewhere. Examples of recordings include Alexander Duplanty, at the Ile de Montreal, Canada, on April 19th 1706, Jean Baptiste Plantier, at Vercheres, Quebec, Canada, on November 5th 1766, and Lois Duplant, at Bay, Michigan, on September 10th 1866. Agatha Du Plantier was christened at the city of Lyon, Rhone, France on November 13th 1811, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The coat of arms has the blazon of a red field, a gold bend between, in chief, a camel and in base, a lion rampant. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John du Plante, which was dated 1559, in the rolls of the city of Lyon, France, during the reign of King Henry 11 of France, 1547 - 1549. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.