Courmes

Courmes

*Corma* (Occitan)
Courmes Corma (Occitan)
Commune
	A general view of the village
	Coat of arms
	Location of Courmes
	Courmes Courmes
	Coordinates: 43°44′37″N 7°00′35″E / 43.7436°N 7.0097°E
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Alpes-Maritimes
Arrondissement	Grasse
Canton	Valbonne
Intercommunality	CA Sophia Antipolis
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Richard Thiery
Area 1	15.71 km2 (6.07 sq mi)
Population (2021)	109
• Density	6.9/km2 (18/sq mi)
Demonym	Courmois
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	06049 /06620
Elevation	260–1,263 m (853–4,144 ft) ; (avg. 630 m or 2,070 ft)
Website	www.courmes.fr
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Courmes (French pronunciation: [kuʁm]; Occitan: Cormes) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. It is part of Préalpes d'Azur Regional Natural Park.^[3] In 2020, Courmes had a population of 108.

The Loup River, which marks the western border with Gourdon, offers scenic hikes in the area, renowned for its river gorges (Gorges du Loup),^[4] including around the Cascades du Saut du Loup between Courmes and Gourdon, as well as the Cascade de Courmes below.

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	26	—
1975	42	+7.09%
1982	60	+5.23%
1990	64	+0.81%
1999	88	+3.60%
2009	98	+1.08%
2014	124	+4.82%
2020	108	−2.28%
Source: INSEE^[5]

Toponymy

Albert Dauzat describes Corma (1176) as old Provençal : A place planted with Cornus mas, or an oronym pre-Latin.^[6]

Marie-Thérèse Morlet does not take up in her recent research (1997), the possibility left by Dauzat of a pre-Latin oronym.^[7]

Frédéric Mistral in Lou Tresor dóu Felibrige (1878-1886) writes that Courmo, Courmes is a place name in the Alpes-Maritimes and that Courmes and Decormis [fr] are Provençal family names.^[8]

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ (in French) Les communes du Parc, www.parc-prealpesdazur.fr.
^ (in French) "À la découverte du Saut du Loup, les sublimes cascades du pays niçois", actu.fr, 23 July 2021.
^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
^ Albert Dauzat Etymological dictionary of place names in France, Librairie Guénégaud, 1963, p. 229
^ : Oronym much more Nissart than Grassois Georges Castellana, Nice-French Dictionary. Edition Serre 1952, page 67: “Short summit, apogee; the height, done". At no time does he make a link with the village of Courmes or with the original name : Corma, Corme
^ Frédéric Mistral, Lou Trésor dou Félibrige or Provençal-French Dictionary: embracing the various dialects of the modern langue d'oc, Ed. Marcel Petit, 1979, page 643 ( read online).