name must be used consistently on all identification documents, such as a passport or identity card. Most common French surnames The list for France is different according to the sources. A list including the births between 1891 and 1990 shows : 1 – Martin, 2 – Bernard, 3 – Thomas, 4 – Petit, 5 – Robert, 6 – Richard, 7 – Durand, 8 – Dubois, 9 – Moreau, 10 – Laurent. A list of birth between 1966 and 1990 yields: 1 – Martin, 2 – Bernard, 3 – Thomas, 4 – Robert, 5 – Petit, 6 – Dubois, 7 – Richard, 8 – Garcia (Spanish), 9 – Durand, 10 – Moreau. This list masks strong regional differences in France and the increasing number of foreign names among the French citizens. Table based on births between 1966 and 1990: Particles Some French last names include a prefix called a particle (), a preposition or article at the beginning of the name. The most widespread of these are de (meaning "of"), le or la ("the"), and Du or de La ("of the"). The capitalisation of can vary. In France, particles de, le and la are generally not capitalised, but Du and the double de La are. In other countries and languages, capitalisation may follow different rules. A common misconception is that particules indicate some noble or feudal origin of the name, but this is not always the case. Many non-noble people have particules in their names simply because they indicate the family's geographic origin. One example is Dominique de Villepin. French statesman Charles de Gaulle's surname may not be a traditional French name with a toponymic particule, but a Flemish Dutch name that evolved from a form of De Walle meaning "the wall". In the case of nobility, titles are mostly of the form [title] [particle [name of the land]: for instance, Louis, duc d'Orléans ("Louis, duke of Orléans"), or simply Louis d'Orléans. Former president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's father had his surname legally changed from "Giscard" to "Giscard d'Estaing" in 1922, claiming the name of a family line extinct since the French Revolution. Adding a particule was one way for people of non-noble origins to pretend they were nobles. In the 19th century, wealthy commoners buying nobility titles were derisively called Monsieur de Puispeu, a pun on depuis peu meaning "since recently". Similarly, during the French Revolution of 1789–1799, when being associated