81 500
Perche, region of emigration
to Quebec in the 17th century
to Quebec in the 17th century
by Jean-François Loiseau
published on December 15, 2023, updated on January 5, 2024
| Rank | Name | Frequency % | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tremblay | 1,08 | All Quebec Tremblays descend from the pioneer Pierre Tremblay but, contrary to popular belief, this pioneer is not the ancestor of the greatest number of people; he owes his reputation only to the large number of married male descendants. “Pierre Tremblay, who had only 4 married sons, had 143 married great-grandsons with the same names”, specify the authors of the study. |
| 2 | Gagnon | 0,79 | All Quebec Gagnons descend from the pioneer Percheron family originating from Tourouvre and Ventrouze. “The Gagnon family has always ranked among the top three families since the arrival of these ancestors in the country. Since the middle of the nineteenth century, it has always occupied the second place,” indicates the Association of the Gagnon and Belzile families. |
| 4 | Côté | 0,69 | All Côté in Quebec descend from the pioneer Jean Côté. His place of birth is unknown. Some believe he came from Mortagne-au-Perche but no Percheron or Quebec records confirm this hypothesis. |
| 5 | Bouchard | 0,53 | The Bouchards in Quebec descend from eight pioneers of diverse origins. The Percheron is Claude Bouchard known as “Le Petit Claude” (around 1626 Saint-Cosme-de-Vair - 1699 Saint-François-Xavier-de-la-Petite-Rivière). |
| 9 | Fortin | 0,45 | If Julien Fortin is the direct maternal ancestor of Madonna, he is also the direct maternal ancestor of nearly 90% of Fortins in America![2] |
| 10 | Gagné | 0,45 | All Gagné in Quebec descend from the Percheron brothers Louis and Pierre Gagné. |
| 12 | Pelletier | 0,44 | No less than 19 pioneers are at the origin of the Pelletiers of Quebec. The Percheron is Guillaume Pelletier known as the Globoteur, husband of Michelle Mabille. |
| 13 | Bélanger | 0,43 | The Bélangers of Quebec descend from two pioneers: François, the Percheron who left Mortagne-au-Perche in 1634 and Nicolas Bélanger, the Norman from Touques (bishopric of Lisieux). |
| 18 | Girard | 0,36 | More than a dozen pioneers introduced the surname Girard to New France, including the Percheron Pierre who arrived in 1661, hired by the Jesuits. |
| 20 | Boucher | 0,34 | A dozen migrants introduced the surname Boucher to New France. But it is the Percheron Marin, originally from Saint-Langis-lès-Mortagne, from which the Bouchers of Quebec mainly descend. [3] |
| 23 | Cloutier | 0,30 | Although the name Cloutier comes in 23rd position among the first names, with a proportion of 0.30%, Zacharie Cloutier and his wife Xainte Dupont are the French pioneers having the greatest number of descendants today when we do not take into account the name. |
| 26 | Fournier | 0,29 | No less than 41 people with the surname Fournier migrated from France to Quebec from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Of these, 12 have left descendants to this day.[4]. The Percheron Guillaume, the first to arrive in New France, and his wife Françoise Hébert left the most numerous descendants having the surname Fournier in America. |
| 35 | Landry | 0,25 | Three ancestors introduced the name Landry, one in Quebec and two in Acadia: Guillaume Landry, originally from La Ventrouze in Perche, arrived in Quebec in 1655. René Landry known as the Elder was born in France, perhaps in La Chaussé, in the Vienne department around 1618. René Landry known as the Younger was born in a village in western France around 1634, of parents whose names we do not know. The latter two settled in Acadia.[5] |
| 53 | Beaudoin | 0,21 | The Beaudoins (Baudoin / Baudouin) of Quebec descend from 4 pioneers: the Percheron brothers Jean and René who arrived around 1658, the Protestant Jacques from La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) who emigrated in 1664 and Henri from Celles-sur-Belle (Deux -Sèvres) who arrived later in 1769. |
| 61 | Dion | 0,19 |
The Dions of Quebec are mostly Guyons! Pronunciation errors have transformed the surname over the centuries.
There are three origins of Dion; the oldest and main family is that of the Percheron pioneer Jean Guyon, born in 1592 in Tourouvre and married to Mathurine Robin on June 2, 1615 in Mortagne-au-Perche.
The two main other Dion couples who came to New France are:
|
| 62 | Mercier | 0,19 | At least 17 migrants introduced the name Mercier to New France. Among these, five pioneers have left descendants to this day: Julien Mercier (born in 1621 in Tourouvre in Perche, married with Marie Poulain in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in 1654), Pierre Mercier known as Caudebec (born in 1644 in Barneville-sur-Seine in Eure, married with Andrée Martin in Beaubassin in Acadia in 1679), Pierre Mercier (born in 1653 in Saint-Denis-de-la-Chevasse in Vendée, married with Marguerite Lemain in Neuville in 1685), Pierre-Simon Mercier (born in Paris in 1693, married to Marie-Renée Pineau in Verchères in 1725), Charles Mercier known as Lajoie (born in 1735 in Removille in Lorraine, arrived with the Berry Regiment in Quebec in 1757, married to Marie-Anne Lahaise in Assomption in 1761). [6] |
| 66 | Langlois | 0,18 | There are nine stem families of Langlois who came to settle in America. The oldest and main family is that of the Percheron pioneer Noël Langlois from Saint-Léonard-des-Parcs. |
| 72 | Dubois | 0,18 | The Dubois Families Association lists 15 stem families of Dubois. However, the two Percheron pioneers Jean Dubois dit La Fantaisie and Pierre Dubois dit Morel are not part of it; we do not find any trace of Jean Dubois in Quebec registers while the second had only one daughter. [7] |
| 74 | Paradis | 0,17 | All Paradis in Quebec descend from the Percheron stem family originally from Mortagne-au-Perche, Saint-Germain de Loisé parish. |
| 83 | Gravel | 0,16 | All Gravels in Quebec descend from Joseph-Massé Gravelle, originally from Perche and arrived in New France in 1641. |
| 89 | Giroux | 0,16 | The Giroux are mostly descended from the Percheron Toussaint Giroux from Réveillon (Orne). |
| 91 | Leduc | 0,16 | 5 Leduc pioneers are at the origin of the Leduc of Quebec: Antoine (Louvetot), Jean (Igé), Jean-Baptiste (St-Jean-de-Luz), Pierre (Rouen) and René (Brézé).[ 8] |
| 94 | Lambert | 0,15 | 7 pioneers are at the origin of the Lamberts of Quebec; some did not have the surname Lambert like Augustin Hébert dit Jolicoeur, René Hubert and Claude Robillard![9] The Percheron pioneer is Aubin Lambert dit Champagne. |
left France to settle in Quebec in the 17th and 18th centuries
List updated by perche-quebec.com in November 2023
