Salathé

Salathé is a surname of French origin, typically written with a diacritic on the final e. It is found among Francophone populations and in communities descended from French-speaking emigrants in Europe and the Americas.

The precise origin of Salathé is uncertain. Linguistic and genealogical sources suggest it may be toponymic, derived from a place name, or alternatively patronymic, from an ancestral given name that entered French through regional languages. The name exists in several orthographic variants, including Salathé, Salathe, and Salaté, and may appear with or without diacritics depending on country and transcription conventions. In some families, forms such as de Salathé or Salate appear in historical records.

Modern bearers are found in France, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States, with clusters in areas tied to historic French- and Swiss-Canadian settlements and American immigrant communities. Records of the surname date back to the early modern period in certain regions, though it remains comparatively uncommon. The spelling and geographic spread reflect broader patterns of migration and language contact.

Notable people with the surname Salathé appear across various fields, including science, academia, the arts, and public life, rather than concentrating in a single domain. The name is also encountered in genealogical research, where researchers explore variant spellings and regional roots to trace family histories.