The Top 10 Family Names in Québec in 1881
Explore our Top 10 list of the most popular surnames in Quebec in 1881, such as Tremblay, Roy and Gagnon. We will also provide the origin of each name, whether your family is currently in Quebec, Ontario, elsewhere in French Canada or the United States.
Franco-Manitoban novelist Gabrielle Roy in 1945 (Wikimedia Commons)
#1. Roy: either from Le Roy, the name of several towns all over France, or a derivative of roi (“king” in English), an ironic surname.
#2. Gagnon: probably a derivative of the ancient French word gaigneor, meaning a labourer or cultivator; an occupational surname.
#3. Tremblay: from Le Tremblay, the name of several towns in northern France. Over 1% of Quebeckers today have the surname Tremblay!
#4. Côté: a variation of Costé, a probable alteration of the name Le Costil, the name of several towns in Normandy.
Canadian professor, botanist, researcher and scientist Roger Gauthier in 1939 (Wikimedia Commons)
#5. Gauthier: either (a) from the Germanic Waldhari, composed of wald (power, authority) and hari (army); or (b) an alteration of Gonthier or Gothier – from the Germanic Gunthari, composed of gunt (battle, combat) and hari (army).
#6. Morin: either (a) from Le Morin, the name of several towns in various parts of France or (b) from the Latin name Maurinus, derived of Maurus (in French Mauritanien), the surname of a dark-skinned person.
#7. Bélanger: a variation of the Germanic Berngari, from bern (bears) and gari (spear).
#8. Pelletier: occupational surname; pelletier translates to furrier.
#9. Ouellet: probable alteration of the word Houellet, from the ancient French hoel, meaning hoyau in today’s French or mattock in English (an agricultural tool shaped like a pickax); occupational surname given to a person who used a mattock.
Gaëtan Boucher, Canadian long-track speed skater and quadruple Olympic medalist (1982 photo by Bogaerts, Rob / Anefo, Nationaal Archief, Wikimedia Commons)
#10. Boucher: occupational surname; boucher translates to butcher.
Sources:
Louis Duchesne, “Les noms de famille au Québec : aspects statistiques et distribution spatiale”, Institut de la statistique du Québec (http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/statistiques/population-demographie/caracteristiques/noms_famille_1000.htm)
Marc Picard, Dictionnaire des noms de famille du Canada français (Québec, Québec, Les Presses de l’Université Laval, 2010).