Acadian Family Names

Patronymes acadiens

Acadian Family Names
Patronymes acadiens

Many family genealogists, while knowing that perhaps a part of their family came to the U.S. or moved west in Canada from an origin either in Quebec or further east, may not know that in fact their family originates from the territory once known as "Acadia". Acadia once encompassed the region now known as the state of Maine, in the U.S., and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, in Canada. The first attempt to settle this region, by the French, was in 1604, but difficult weather and supply problems, diseases and problems with the native peoples kept the settlement numbers small. A truly continuous and successful settlement took hold after 1634. Relative peace helped the settlement to grow over the years (not that there weren't troubles), but the territorial wars between the British and French finally reached across the Atlantic to forever change the lives of the peaceful Acadians - the famous Dispersal of the Acadians in 1755 begin, scattering the peoples of Acadia widely. Acadian families were split up and sent to the British colonies of the east coast, the Spanish settlement in Louisiana, and as far away as the Falklan Islands and Bermuda. It is often because of this massive movement of the Acadian people, that many of Acadian ancestry are unaware of their hereditary connection to the land of Acadia.

While this is just a brief overview of the history of Acadia, it may help genealogists to begin the research of this rich culture within their own lineage. So, to help genealogists in their search, the following list is shared of the family surnames that are associated with the Acadian settlements of the 17th and 18th centuries. This list was drawn up for the Grand-Pre National Historic Site by historian Brenda Dunn of the Canadian Parks Service, and appears in the Acadian Odyssey publication "Patronymes acadiens/Acadian Family Names" written by Stephen White. The surnames follow:

Abbadie de Sainte-Castin
d'Allain
Amirault dit Tourangeau
Angou dit Choisy
Apart
Arcement
Arnaud
Arosteguy
Arseneau
Aubois
Aucoin
Ayot

Babin
Babineau dit Deslauriers
Barillot
Barolet
Bastarache dit (Le)Basque
Bastien
Belliveau dit Bideau
Belliveau dit Blondin
Belou
Benoit dit Labriere
Bergereau
Bergeron d'Amboise
Bergeron dit Nantes
Bernard
Berrier dit Machefer
Bertaud dit Montaury
Bertrand
Bezier dit Touin dit Lariviere
Blanchard
Blanchard dit Gentilhomme
Bodard
Boisseau dit Blondin
Bonnevie dit Beaumont
Bonniere
Borel
Boucher dit Desroches
Boudrot
Bourg
Bourgeois
Boutin
Brassaud
Brasseur dit Mathieu
Breau
Broussard
Brun
Bugeaud
Buisson
Buote
Buteau

Cahouet Caissy dit Roger Calve dit Laforge
Carre Celestin dit Bellemere Cellier dit Normand
Chauvet Chenet dit Dubreuil Chesnay dit Lagarenne
Chiasson dit La Vallee Chouteau dit Manseau Clemenceau
Cloistre Coignac Comeau
Cormier dit Rossignol Cormier dit Thierry Corne
Corporon Cosset Coste
Cottard Cousin Crepaux
Creysac dit Toulouse Cyr

Daigre D'Amours de Chauffours D'Amours de Clignancour
D'Amours de Freneuse D'Amours de Louvriere D'Amours de Plaine
Daniel Darois David dit Pontif
Delisle Denis Denys de Fronsac
Derayer Deschamps dit Cloche Desgoutins
Desmoillons Despres Deveau dit Dauphine
Dingle Doiron Domine dit Saint-Sauveur
Doucet dit Laverdure Doucet dit Lirlandois Doucet dit Mayard
Druce Dubois Dubois dit Dumont
Dufaut Dugas Duguay
Duon dit Lynnais Duplessis Dupuis

Egan

Flan Fontaine dit Beaulieu Forest
Forton Fougere Fournier
Froiquingont

Gadrau Galerne Galle
Garceau dit Boutin Garceau dit Richard Garceau dit Tranchemontagne
Gareau Gaudet Gauterot
Gauthier Gentil Giboire Duverge dit Lamotte
Girouard Gise dit Desrosiers Godin dit Beausejour
Godin dit Bellefeuille Godin dit Bellefontaine Godin dit Boisjoli
Godin dit Catalogne Godin dit Chatillon Godin dit Lincour
Godin dit Preville Godin dit Valcour Gosselin
Gourdeau Gousman Gouzille
Grandmaison(Terriot dit Gauillot) Granger Gravois
Grosvalet Guedry dit Grivois Guedry dit Labine
Guedry dit Labrador Guedry dit Laverdure Gueguen
Guenard Guerin Guerin dit Laforge
Guilbeau Guillot dit Langevin Guy dit Tintamarre
Guyon

Hache dit Gallant Hamel Hamet
Hamon Hebert dit Manuel Helys dit Nouvelle
Henry dit Robert Hensaule Heon
Heuse Hugon

Jeanson Joseph

Kimine

LaBarre Labat, dit Le Marquis, de La Bauve
La Chaume La Croix La Lande dit Bonappetit
Lambert Lambourt Landron
Landry Langlois Lanoue
La Pierre dit La Roche La Vache Lavergne
La Vigne Lebert dit Jolycoeur Le Blanc
Le Blanc dit Jasmin Le Borgne de Belisle Le Clerc dit Laverdure
Lecul Leger dit La Rozette Le Jeune dit Briard
Le Juge Le Marquis dit Clermont Le Mire
Le Neuf de Beaubassin Le Neuf de Boisneuf Le Neuf de La Valliere
L'Enfant Le Poupet de Saint-Aubin Le Prieur dit Dubois
Le Prince Leroy L'Eschevin dit Billy
Le Vanier dit Langevin Levasseur dit Chamberlange Levron dit Nantois
Loiseau Long Longuepee
Loppinot Lord dit La Montagne Lucas

Maffier Maillet Maisonnat dit Baptiste
Malboeuf Mangeant dit Saint-Germain Marcadet
Marchand dit Poitiers Marres dit La Sonde Martel
Martin Martin dit Barnabe Masse
Massie Mathieu Maucaire
Mazerolle dit Saint-Louis Melanson dit Laverdure Melanson dit La Ramee
Mercier dit Caudebec Messaguay Meunier
Michel dit La Ruine Migneau dit Aubin Mignier dit Lagasse
Mirande Mius d'Azit Mius d'Entremont de
Muis d'Entremont de Pobomcoup Plemarais
Monmellian dit Saint-Germain Mordant Morin dit Boucher
Morpain Moulaison dit Rencontre Mouton
Moyse dit Latreille

Naquin dit L'Etoile Nogues Nuirat

Olivier Onel (O'Neale) Orillon dit Champagne
Oudy Ozelet

Part Pellerin Petitot dit Saint-Sceine
Petitpas Pichot Picot
Pincer Pinet Pitre dit Marc
Poirier Poitevin dit Cadieux Poitevin dit Parisien
Poitier Porlier Poujet dit Lapierre
Poupart Prejean dit Le Breton Pretieux
Pugnant dit Destouches

Racois dit Desrosiers Raymond Renaud dit Provencal
Richard Richard dit Beaupre Richard dit Boutin
Richard dit Lafont Rimbeau Rivet
Robichaud dit Cadet Robichaud dit Niganne Robichaud dit Prudent
Rodohan Rodrigue dit de Fonds Rousse dit Languedoc
Roy dit La Liberte Rullier

Saindon Saint-Etienne de La Tour, de Saint-Julien de La
Samson Saulnier dit Lacouline Chaussee, de
Sauvage dit Forgeron Sauvage dit Chrystophe Savary
Savoie Semer Serreau de Saint-Aubin
Sicot Simon dit Boucher Soulard
Soulevent Surette

Tandau Terriot Testard dit Paris
Thebeau Thibault Thibodeau
Tillard Tourneur Toussaint dit Lajeunesse
Trahan Triel dit La Perriere Turcot
Turpin dit La Giroflee

Vallois Vescot Viger
Vigneau dit Maurice Villatte Vincent dit Clement
Voyer

(This listing of names, unfortunately, does not include the important linguistic accent marks so important to French pronunciation as the current text format within AOL does not allow these notations as yet. If future programming allows it, this text will be modified to reflect the correct spelling with the accents. Researchers, consequently, should be aware of the possibility of phonetic spellings of these names, in their spoken variations, as part of their search. Many French, French-Canadian and Acadian publications noted in the bibliography will include the correct accent marks.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY of ACADIAN Readings

Arsenault, Bona. Histoire et genealogie des Acadiens. Quebec, 1965.
Bernard, Antoine. Histoire de la survivance acadienne. Montreal, 1935.
Blanchard, J-Henri. Histoire des Acadiens de l'Ile du Prince-Edouard. Moncton, 1927.
de Ville, W. Acadian Church Records, 1679-1757. New Orleans, 1985.
Doughty, A. The Acadian Exiles. Toronto, 1920.
Gaudet, P. Acadian Genealogy and Notes. Ottawa, 1906.
Griffiths, N. The Acadians: Creation of a People. Toronto, 1973.
Jehn, Janet. Acadian Descendants. Multiple volumes Covington, KY, 1972 - 1985.
Leblanc, E. Les Acadiens. Montreal, 1963.
Rieder, M. The Acadiens in France, 1762-1776. Metairie, LA, 1967.
White, Stephen. Registre de L'Abbe Charles-Francois Bailly. Caraquet, 1978.


Important Acadian Addresses/Information

Acadian Genealogy Exhange
Mrs. Janet Jehn, Editor
863 Wayman Branch Road
Covington, KY 41015-2250 Excellent periodical and publications.

Centre d'Etudes Acadiennes
202 Champlain Library
University of Moncton
Moncton, New Brunswick E1A-3E9 The Center publishes genealogical materials (a listing is available for sale); possesses notes or compilations by many famous Acadian/French-Canadian researchers and has published a dictionary of Acadians.

Some good Internet addresses for French-Canadian/Acadian researchers:

http://www.cam.org/~beaur/gen/ This is Denis Beauregard's wonderful French-Canadian/Acadian resource page; more info here than can be obtained in one or two readings; many linked pages take you to scanned images of ancestral lands, names of experts in certain names, and some basic historical info. Not to be missed.

http://degaulle.hil.unb.ca/genealogy/acadian.html This is a New Brunswick genealogy page with much information about Acadians, including some family vignettes. Nice stuff!!

http://tdg.uoguelph.ca/~ycyr/genealogy/ This is Yvonne Cyr's home page. She has some fantastic graphics, links to tons of other Acadian pages, and a wealth of info about the history, region of Acadia.


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