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The following article from the CD-ROM "In Search of Our Acadian Roots" has been translated and is reproduced here with thanks to Claude Perrault and the Socièté Généalogique Canadienne-Française. Translation of SELECTED PARTS of "Les Variances des Noms Propres et des Prénoms et leurs Surnoms", by Claude Perrault...published by Loisirs St-Edouard Inc., 1981-1982. Where did the variations of a name come from? A1. The spelling of names in Canada, from the discovery of Jacques Cartier, in 1534, and in the two centuries following, was not fixed (or stable). We could add that this was also true for part of the 19th Century. What were the reasons for that? A1. At the time, few people were literate. In fact, you can discover in almost every parish register, this phrase: "ils ont déclaré ne savoir signer et ils ont fait leur marque ordinaire, c'est a dire, une croix" (they have declared not knowing how to sign and made an ordinary mark, that is to say, a cross (or "X").). Is this last phrase 100% true? Surely not, for we have found many acts where the witnesses were physicians, notaries, engineers etc. whom, according to the officiating minister, were people who did not know how to sign their name? One can therefore ask why the officiating minister acted in such a way. Was it to save paper? It's possible, but one thing is certain; the officiating minister did not always collect all the signatures of those who could sign their names, nor did he note all the witnesses present at the ceremonies. Besides, the officiating minister, or the person who transcribed the double of the register for civil archives, often did this task at a later date, when the witnesses were no longer there to sign! The same phrase can also be found in notarized acts, and there again, it is not necessarily 100% true that they were unable to sign their name. Click here for details on the "Acadian-Cajun Family Genealogy" CD-ROMs, now available You will see this for yourself in your research, when you compare both versions of the register...that of the parish and the double. Similarly, you'll find the same thing when you compare the originals of the notarized acts and the copies. A2. Because people pronounced their names differently, depending on the region they originated from. From there, to write the name according to the sound of it...there is only a short step for the ministers, notaries and all the public officials...whatever their function...who nevertheless had to write down the name. Example: Payet, Peyet, Paillet, Payette or (even closer to home)...Sire, Syre, Cyre, Cyr. Click here for details on the CYR/SIRE Family Genealogy CD-ROM, now available. A3. Because in the registers, the officiating ministers indicated the name that they were "told", or those that they heard pronounced. In both cases, they wrote the name their own way and according to their knowledge of French. Example: Miet, Millet, Myet, Millette, etc. A4. Because some ministers were careless and did not attach too much importance to the registration they were making, be it for baptisms, marriages, or sepultures. Example: Claude Bussot dit Lacouture had 19 children baptized at Lavaltrie. The name of his wife varies at nearly every one of these baptisms! Why does the variation of a name go all the way to its total transformation, for different reasons? A1. The location of the residence, with names such as: Des Rochers, Des Ruisseaux, Des Pères, Durivage, Du chesne, Du mont, Du pont, La vallé, La montagne, La rivière, etc.
Houde; became Desrochers Trottier; became Desruisseaux Couillard; became Desprs Estienne; became Durivage Guret; became Dumont Perrault; became Duchesnes A2. The place of origin, with names like Tourangeau, Poitevin, Champagne, Picard, d'Anjou, Saintonge, Provenal, Bourguignon, Languedoc, etc.
Barbeau; became Poitevin Danis; became Tourangeau Prillard; Bourguignon Aubin; became St-Onge Lacoste; became Languedoc Foran/Faran/Pharand; became Vivarias A3. The occupation practiced; such as miller, blacksmith, well-man (in charge of a "well"), ferry-man (who would transport people, goods and livestock in his ferry), baker, stone carrier, harvester, tanner (selling or working with animal hides), spoon-maker, trader in salt, tailor, etc.
miller -> meunier; became Dumoulin blacksmith -> forgeron; became Laforge well-man -> puisatier; became Dupuis baker -> boulanger; became Ptrin ferry-man -> traversier; became Latraverse stone-transporter -> transporteur de pierre; became Chartier nail-maker -> clou=nail; became Cloutier bread-maker -> four=oven; became Fournier harvester/reaper -> moissonneur; became Mtivier worker in hides -> travailleur de peaux; became Pelletier spoon-maker -> fabriquant de cuillers; became Cuillerier trader in salt -> trafiquant sur le sel; became Saulnier A4. The profession; such as lawyer, teacher, constable etc.
lawyer -> procureur; became Bailly teacher -> enseignant; became Lemaitre constable/bailiff -> membre de la prvt; became Prevost A5. By whim or fancy...and even grudge and mockery.
Billeron; became LaFatigue Rocan dit la ville; became Bastien Ledoux; became Latreille Seguin; became Ladroute A6. Because of one's financial situation, military, or other. Examples: Nicholas Boyer; became Nicholas Argentcourt Perrault; became Chateauguay A7. The shame of a personal past...or of one's relatives, after a crime had been committed...or, for any other reason judged sufficiently serious by the person involved, such as exercising the occupation of executioner.
A8. For any other reason caused by euphonics or the difficulty of pronouncing a name.
Cuvillon; became Quevillon Delquel; became Dziel How were some of the modifications of the names done by usage? A1. By subtraction of certain letters.
Houde; became Houd Pelletier; became Peltier Rivest; became Rivet Click here for details on the PELLETIER Family Genealogy CD-ROM, now available A2. By modification of the ending.
Aur; became Auray Leclerc; became Leclair Perrot; became Perrault/Perreault etc. A3. By the introduction of certain letters into the name:
Houde; became Houlde Hunault; became Henau Chalifou; became Chalifour Guillon; became Guyon A4. By the ommission of the first syllable:
Thiboutot; became Boutot and Bouthat A5. By another name meaning about the same thing:
Roquebrune; became Larocque (to express solidity, firmness, hardiness). Note: The following e-mail message was subsequently received from Robert Black... "Just a short note about the variations of the names. One of the names used was Larocque & Rocquebrune. It says "Roquebrune; became Larocque (to express solidity, firmness, hardiness)." This is totally wrong, the original name is Larocque meaning a tour or keep as the rook in the game of chess. The name Rocquebrune came from a town once owned or controled by the Larocque family of Larocque-Ordan in the department of Gers in France. Rocquebrune is about 15 km away and still has a tower standing made of redish brown stone hence Roquebrune, I have been to both places. The Chateau of Larocque has the remnants of a tower built in about 1050 as part of the foundation. My mother was born a Larocque-Rocquebrune. Robert Black
To use a factual case, let's take the one of Yolande CYR published in "Cahiers Gen-Histo" no. 1, on page 19. One notes in her lineage, that there is a Pierre CYR married on 6-11-1828 at Ste-Scholastique, to Julienne Larocque, daughter of Antoine and Genevieve Choret. If one looks for this last marriage under the name Larocque, it is not found! Because Antoine married under the name of Antoine de Rocbrune. Another source of difficulty in your research, will come from variations (or the total changing) of the first name, as in the following examples: 1. At baptism, the person receives certain first names, where the last listed is usually the one by which he/she is known throughout his/her life....whereas, in France the opposite is customary! 2. At marriage (or death), if the person has been known throughout his/her life by a first name that does not appear among the ones given at baptism...and he/she marries or is buried under the "usual" name, this will of course, cause difficulties to his descendants and to the researchers. Example: Wilfred Vzina married to Philomne Payette dite St-Amour. Translating some excerpts of well-known and respected historians is all well and good, but these tend to give the impression to the readers, that these changes only occurred in New France...or that these names were mutilated only in the United States. Eventhough I (Claude Perrault) will translate several sources, all the reasons for the name changes, are not necessarily found there. Here is a case from my own (Claude Perrault) tree which happened not THAT long ago. It just may give insight as to how some name changes _could_ have occurred. My maternal granfather's name was Joseph-Edouard Walsh (now you know where the red hair comes from). In any case, he was the eldest of twelve children. The first six were baptized "Walsh", as was their father and grandfather. THEN, for whatever reason, the parish (in the county of Portneuf) received a new parish priest. The latter baptized the last six..."Welsh", When the six younger ones started school, they had to bring their "birth certificates". There, the school mistress, seeing the name on the birth certificates, proceeded to admonish the youngsters whenever they claimed their name was "Walsh". "Obviously", scolded the teacher, "it is Walsh"...that was what was entered on all their birth certificates! She decided that this was how they should learn how to pronounce and sign their name! In a nutshell, today I, (Claude Perrault) have cousins whose names are "Walsh" and I have other cousins, whose name are "Welsh". All are descendants of the same couple. Click here to see a complete list of surnames on the Acadian Genealogy CDs, available from me Military Names ("Noms de guerre") In "Les Institutions Militaires de la Nouvelle-France et les Archives" by Louis Lemoyne (published by Loisiers St-Edouard Inc., Montreal, 1981-1982), there are some lists of "noms de guerre". What is surprising (and this is something that I [Claude Perrault] had not noticed before), is that the officers as well as the enlisted men had "noms de guerre". Also, I can't help but notice all the humorous names. In the great, great majority of cases,we will never know the stories behind those names...which is really too bad!. Nevertheless, here are a few...with their meanings...and I'll let imagine how they came to be! The number in brackets, indicates how many individuals bore that "nom de guerre" in the registers of the invalids found at the hospital called, l'Institut National des Invalides" (France). I'll just go through the "B's" and "C's", and pick only a few examples, to give you an idea.
Bonnenouvelle (10) -> good news Bonne volont (17) -> good will Bon Vivant (14) -> enjoys the good things in life Bristetout (10) -> breaks everything Brizefer (30) -> breaks everything (iron) Brulevillage (11) -> burns village Boit sans Soif (5) -> drinks without thirst Bouteille (2) -> bottle Brisemenage (2) -> home-breaker Brulemaison (2) -> burns house Cinq Franc (1) -> five francs Coeur ardent (1) -> flaming heart Clefs des Coeurs (2) -> keys to the hearts Cupidon (3) -> cupid Cur (1) -> priest And just so Dick Miale doesn't feel left out...in the company of the 2nd Grenadiers of the Royal-Italian Battalion in 1763, we find that Antonio Risso and Georges Vanetti, both had the "nom de guerre"..."Colosso" (both measured 5', 8"). In general, the names of this company, ressembles very much those of the French soldiers, with "noms de guerre" like Bonvino, Il Terrible, La Vigna, Belamose, Senza Quartier and, of course, Viva l'amore. Extract from the U.S. Census of 1820 for Madawaska NOTE: This Census was taken by English-Americans who spoke and understood little (if any) French. The resultant Census shows that: Alexis Thibodeau became Alevey Tebedore Since the above noted (right-hand side) is the _actual_ spelling as it appears in the old records, I think by now you must all have a better appreciation as to why researching Acadian/French names, is NOT always an easy task! Click on the year-links below, to view other Acadian Census 1671 - 1678 - 1686 - 1693 - 1698 - 1700 - 1701 - 1703 - 1707 - 1714 - 1751 - 1752 - 1769 - 1770 - 1771 - 1774 - 1776 - 1777 - 1809a - 1809b - Click here to see how many times the surnames you are researching, appear on the Acadian-Cajun CD-ROM's available from me. Click here to view list of "Specific Family Genealogy" CD-ROM's "Dit" Names The following information was obtained from Linda Jones and provides a good explanation (as well as many examples) of "dit names" One thing that can make it difficult to find your ancestor is that he may have been using a different surname from the one that you expect. You will need to make yourself aware of any "dit" names that might be associated with the surname you're tracing, and if you can't find someone under the name of his child, you may find him under the dit name. "Dit" in French means "say" and in this context, it means "called." In other words, a person might be Pierre Bourbeau dit Lacourse, which means that he had an ancestor named Bourbeau, but he chooses to use the name Lacourse instead. So he is Pierre Bourbeau called Lacourse. People might take a dit name to distinguish their family from another family of the same name living nearby. Often it was a sort of nickname, often picked up during service as a soldier. Or it might refer to the place in France where the family originated. Sometimes it was the mother's surname, and sometimes the father's first name was used, either instead of the surname (for example, Hebert dit Emmanuel) or in addition to it (Jeanbard, Castonquay). In any case, very often the dit name was passed down to later generations, either in place of the original surname, or in addition to it. Some of his children might then keep the original surname (e.g. Barbeau), and some might use the dit name (e.g. Lacourse). After a few generations, it's not uncommon to completely lose the memory of the original name, or to forget which was the original and which was the dit name. The best example of this is the Hudon dit Beaulieu family, where you will often find people listed as Beaulieu dit Hudon. You sometimes might find a name and its dit name hyphenated, as in François Hudon-Beaulieu. In fact, you can generally assume that a hyphenated surname (before 1950, anyway) is the surname plus dit name. Just remember that any Hudon might be the child of a Beaulieu and vice versa. Click here for details on the ROI/ROY Family Genealogy CD-ROM, now available Some surnames, such as Roy, have had several different dit names. You should be aware that usually a different dit name indicates a different family. For example, Siméon Roy dit Audy and Antoine Roy dit Desjardins were not related to each other. So it helps us to distinguish who's who among their descendants if the descendants use a dit name. Pierre Roy dit Audy will be a descendant of Siméon, and François Roy dit Desjardins will be a descendant of Antoine. If you find a source which tells you, for example, that Pierre Audy is François Desjardins' father, you should be very suspicious. The sources you use may give the name as it appeared in the original document, or may list all the Hudons and Beaulieus together, under either name. Jette has standardized spellings, and leaves out "de" when alphabetizing, but he is faithful to the original surname of the family. So whether you're looking for a Hudon, a Beaulieu, or a Hudon-Beaulieu, they're all listed together under "H." Other sources may list the same person many different places, and some sources consider Beaulieu to be more common, and therefore they place the Hudons under "B." Don't assume a marriage or birth isn't listed until you've exhausted all possible names and spellings. And don't forget to check under the many spelling variations that were common. Any name that starts with a vowel, for example, might also be found with an H in front of it (Emond, Hemond, Ayot, Hayot). And the "o" sound at the end of a name might be spelled ot, eau, au, ault, eault, eau, aux, eaux, aud, or aut. Following is a partial list of dit names and their equivalents. You can also find extensive lists of dit names in Jette and Tanguay. Acelin - Asselin Davignon - Beauregard More Variations/Derivatives of French surnames Aba(i)r(e) = Hébert Beauregard = Bourgard Chagnon = Shonyo Coulombe = Colombe, Colom, Collum, Cloum Dabat = LaBatt Farnsworth = Phaneuf Gaboury=Gabourie, Gabori, Gadourie Hébert = Aba(i)r(e) Jacks = Jacques Kenville=Quenneville LaBatt = Dabat Nadeau=Neddo, Nadae, Nada Obin = Aubin Paradee = Paradis Quémeneur=Kemener, Kimeneur, Timeneur, Kemneur, Kemener, Kimenir, Temenaire, Timenaire Rabtoy/Robtoy = Robitaille Sampierre = St. Pierre Tailleur = Taylor Vanslatte = Vincelette Wellet(te) = Ouellette Yandow=Guindon Contributed by Yvon Cyr, author/owner of the Acadian Genealogy Homepage Last Modified 12/26/04 9:07 PM | Hide Tools |