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“Dit” Names in French Canada

Your Family Name is Lavictoire, Tourangeau, Carrière or Villeneuve? Chances are your French ancestor’s name was completely different.   

I recently worked on a friend’s French-Canadian paternal and maternal family tree branches, constructing an ascending branch for both her parents. I built her paternal ascending line by finding her father’s father, then his father, and so on, until I reached the first European ancestor to touch Canadian soil. And then I did the same thing with her mother’s father, his father, and so on.

Given that my friend’s surname was Vaillant and her mother’s surname was Hamel, one could have reasonably assumed that the ancestors who came to New-France would carry both those same surnames. She was surprised to find out that their names were in fact Raleau and Voyer. It can be startling to discover that your name, the one you thought crossed the Atlantic with that first ancestor, is not the same one that survives today.

For example,

• If your last name is Lavictoire, your ancestor may have been a Benech.

• If your last name is Tourangeau, your ancestor may have been a Lemelin.

• If your last name is Carrière, your ancestor may have been a Gemmes.

• If your last name is Villeneuve, your ancestor may have been an Asselin.

• If your last name is Laviolette, your ancestor may have been a Greslon or a Goyer.

• If your last name is Brisebois, your ancestor may have been a Dubois.

• If your last name is Lafleur, your ancestor may have been a Lecompte or a Bresa.

• If your last name is Boisdoré, your ancestor may have been a Barbot.

• If your last name is Ladouceur, your ancestor may have been a Lamadeleine.

• If your last name is Latreille, your ancestor may have been a Lalande.

• If your last name is Michaud, your ancestor may have been a Michel.

• If your last name is Delorme, your ancestor may have been a Lemay.

• If your last name is Deslauriers, your ancestor may have been a Legault.

• If your last name is Lapointe, your ancestor may have been a Desautels.

Confused yet? The good news is that it’s possible to sort through the complexity once you understand “dit” names and how they came to be.  

A “dit” name can be equated to a nickname or alias, which is normally added to a surname. “Dit” is translated as said or, in this context, called. In the first example I gave above, the person would write their last name as Benech dit Lavictoire (Benech called Lavictoire). A female ancestor using a dit name would use Benech dite Lavictoire (dite being the feminine version of dit).

Did you know that Gustave Eiffel, the architect of the Eiffel tower in Paris, was born Alexandre Gustave Bonickhausen dit Eiffel? Eiffel is derived from the Eifel region of Germany where the family originated. Gustave officially changed his last name to Eiffel in 1880.  

This tradition of “dit” names started in France with the military. New recruits would often be given nicknames or noms de guerre (literally translated as “war names”). They would be identified via their first name, surname and nom de guerre. The recruit sometimes chose their own name and sometimes it was assigned to him by his captain. This tradition continued with the French troops that came to New France, many of whom eventually settled here. To learn more about the military roots of French “dit” names, click here to read an article by military historian Luc Lépine, PhD. A “dit” name could also be used by a person simply to differentiate themselves, or their family, from someone else with the same name.

What types of “dit” name could a person have? Most “dit” names found in New France fall into these categories:

• Nicknames based on origin: examples include “Parisien” (the Parisian), “Champigny” (the name of several communes in France) and “Portugais” (the Portuguese).

• Nicknames based on a physical trait: “Legrand” (the tall one), “Leroux” (the redhead) and Lefort (the strong one).  

• Nicknames based on a personality trait: examples include “Lamoureux” (the lover), “Sanspeur” (without fear) and “Belhumeur” (in a good mood).

• Nicknames based on animals or plants: examples include “Lafleur” (the flower), “Lavigne” (the vine), Loiseau (the bird).

• Nicknames based on occupations: examples include “Lefebvre” (the blacksmith), “Pelletier” (the furrier) and “Boucher” (the butcher).

• Nicknames based on the modification of a surname or a first name, or based on a mother’s name: examples include Rivière becoming Larivière or Jean becoming St-Jean.

These “dit” names had a lasting legacy in French Canada, as this practice lasted until about 1870. Historians such as René Jetté have estimated that there were over 7,500 “dit” names in Québec. It’s also important to note that in some French-Canadian families, one side of the family might retain the original surname, while another might retain the “dit” name (especially when first names were commonly repeated). When researching your ancestors, it’s important to keep both names in mind and to vary the composition. For example, look for a “Latreille dit Lalande”, “Lalande dit Latreille”, “Lalande-Latreille”, “Latreille” and “Lalande” on their own, and so on. Spelling can also vary greatly, which should be taken into consideration.

An excellent resource is the Répertoire des noms de famille du Québec des origines à 1825 by René Jetté and Micheline Lécuyer. This book lists all the “dit” names found in Québec and their standardized surname. It is available for sale from the Société généalogique canadienne-française.