Joan of Arc’s family received the name du Lys after Charles VII ennobled them.
The French king granted noble status to Joan’s family in 1429, following her role in the relief of Orléans and the king’s coronation at Reims. The family’s new designation, du Lys, referred to the fleur-de-lis, a traditional emblem of the French monarchy.
The grant applied to Joan’s parents and siblings, not merely to Joan as an individual. It also included privileges associated with noble status, including exemption from certain taxes. The family’s rise illustrates how strongly the monarchy valued Joan’s contribution to Charles VII’s cause.
The name is sometimes confused with a conventional hereditary surname used from birth. Joan was generally identified in contemporary records by her given name and the term “the Maid”; du Lys was a later family designation connected with royal ennoblement.