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Top 12 Boys’ Names in New France

in the 17th and 18th Centuries

including their origins and meanings, taken from Guy Bouthillier’s Nos prénoms et leurs histoires

#1. Jean-Baptiste: the name Jean-Baptiste has its origins at the start of Christianity, from John the Baptist. It made its way to France in the 17th century, and crossed the Atlantic with colonists coming to New France at the same time. Jean-Baptiste was the most popular name for centuries here, until Joseph took the top spot in the 19th century. Jean-Baptiste has also come to symbolize the province of Québec as a whole, similar to how "John Bull" represents the United Kingdom. June 24th is celebrated annually as "Saint-Jean-Baptiste" Day in Québec, but is more of a patriotic holiday than a religious one.

#2. Joseph: the origins of the name Joseph date back to biblical times. In the Old Testament, Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Jacob, who went on to become the viceroy of Egypt. In the New Testament, Joseph was a carpenter in Bethlehem, husband of the Virgin Mary and father of Jesus. Despite this historical importance, Joseph did not become a common name amongst Catholic families until the 17th century. In New France, its popularity was cemented when Joseph was named patron saint in 1624. Joseph's female equivalent, Marie Josèphe, was the most popular name in New France. The 20th century, however, signalled the beginning of the end for the name Joseph. By the middle of that century, it had all but disappeared.

#3. Pierre: the name Pierre comes from the Greek Petros and the Latin Petrus. The English translation is Peter. The first to carry this name was Peter the apostle, even though his first name was in fact Simon (Jesus gave him the name Peter). The popularity of the name soon spread to Christian families in Rome and elsewhere in Italy, in the Balkans, Turkey and Alexandria. From there, it reached all corners of the Christian world. Pierre was among the most popular names in New France, which continued until about 1850, when it started to decline. It rebounded in the 1950s, when almost 6% of all boys were named Pierre.   

#4. François: the name François comes from the medieval Latin franciscus, "he who comes from the land of the Franks". Both François and his female equivalent Françoise are intimately linked to France, even though the name originated in Italy. The first to use this name was Francesco d'Assisi, who founded the Franciscan order. From Italy the name spread to the rest of Europe, becoming Francisco in Spain, Franz in Austro-Hungarian countries, and Francis in England. The name François was popular in Québec from the time of New France until the present, along with the compound name Jean-François.  

#5. Louis: the name Louis comes from the Germanic Hlodowig, meaning "glory acquired in combat". Other derivatives of this Germanic name are Clovis, Ludovic and Loïc (the latter is currently a very popular name among boys). The name Louis was common in French-Speaking Canada from the time of New France until the end of the 19th century, when it started to decline. It still remains in the top 50 boys' names.

#6. Antoine: the origins of the name Antoine (Anthony in English) go back to imperial Rome with its Latin equivalent Antonius, and the historical figure of Mark Anthony. This name spread everywhere in the Christian world, taking different forms: Anton in Austria and Germany, Antoni in Catalonia, Antonio in Italy and Portugal and Anthony or Antony in the United Kingdom. The name Antoine was popular in New France, then started to decline around the middle of the 19th century. Since the 1980s, however, Antoine has seen a revival in popularity in French-speaking Canada, as has the name Anthony.    

#7. Charles: the name Charles comes from the Latin Carolus and the Germanic Karl, with roots meaning vigorous or strong. The name quickly spread throughout Europe, as Carl in Swedish, Karol in Polish, Karel in Czech, Carol in Romanian, Carlo in Italian and Carlos in Spanish. In New France, Charles was a popular name. It remained in the top ten lists in Québec into the 19th century for both francophone and anglophone families. Slightly more subdued in the century that followed, Charles now appears to be making a comeback in the 21st century.  

#8. Michel: the name Michel (Michael in English) is Hebrew in origin, making its earliest appearance in the bible as the archangel Michael. The name was well-known in Europe as Michaël in Germany, Miguel in Spain and Portugal, Michele in Italy, Michel or Mikhaïl in Russia, Mihailo in Serbia, Mihai in Romania and Michal in Poland. The name was popular in New France and beyond, but lost steam around 1890. Then, from 1945 to 1964, Michel was the most popular name for boys in every single one of those years. Though Michel is not as common these days, the name Michael is gaining popularity in French-speaking Canada.

#9. Jacques: the origins of the name Jacques (James in English) come from the bible and the apostles James the Less and James the Great. In Hebrew, Jacques was called Ya'akov, which was translated to Iakobos in Greek and Iacobus in Latin. The name spread to all Christian corners of the world: Jacobus or Jakobus in Germany and the Netherlands, Giacomo in Italy, Iago, Jaime or Diego in Spain, Jascha in Russia, Hamish in Gaelic, Seamus in Ireland and James in England. Popular in New France, the name fell into decline by the 19th century, only to rebound in the 20th century. Since then, Jacques' cousin Jacob has also become a common boy's name.  

#10. Augustin: cousin of Auguste, the name Augustin has its roots in Rome, when the emperor Octavian gave himself the name Augustus in 27 B.C. In New France, the name Augustin was far more common than Auguste. Then, in 19th-century Québec, the reverse happened. Though Auguste is absent from Québec toponymy, Augustin has three villages named after him: Saint-Augustin (in the Laurentians), Saint-Augustin (in the Côte-Nord) and Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures (National Capital region).  

#11. Joseph-Marie: as mentioned above, the origins of the name Joseph date back to biblical times. In the Old Testament, Joseph was one of the 12 sons of Jacob, who went on to become the viceroy of Egypt. In the New Testament, Joseph was a carpenter in Bethlehem, husband of the Virgin Mary and father of Jesus. Marie's etymological origins come from the Old Testament and the Hebrew Myriam, the sister of Moses, a name that is over 3,500 years old and said to have Egyptian roots. Its true religious origin comes from the Virgin Mary. Though popular in the era of New France, the compound name Joseph Marie is quite rare in French-speaking Canada today.

#12. Jean: the origins of the name Jean (John in English) go back to Palestine and two saints in the time of Jesus: John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. In reality, their names were Yohanan in Hebrew (Johannes in Latin), meaning "God forgives". Since then, over 300 saints and 23 popes have had the name Jean. It exists in all Christian countries in about 100 variations, such as Juan, Giovanni, Johann, Janos, Ivan and Yann. In the British Isles, we find Sean, Shane, Shawn, Ian and Iain. The name Jean, on its own, was common in New France. It declined in popularity around 1850 only to rebound thirty years later. Today, compound names including Jean are twice as popular as Jean by itself. The most common examples are Jean-François, Jean-Pierre, Jean-Guy, Jean-Claude and Jean-Paul.  

Related articles:

• Top 12 Girls’ Names in New France

• Top 12 Boys’ Names in Québec from 1980 to 2016

• Top 12 Girls’ Names in Québec from 1980 to 2016

• Top 12 Boys’ Names in Québec in 2017

• Top 12 Girls’ Names in Québec in 2017

Sources:

• “Le palmarès des prénoms”, Institut généalogique Drouin, Programme de recherche en démographie historique (https://www.prdh-igd.com/fr/noms-et-prenoms).

• Guy Bouthillier, Nos prénoms et leurs histoires : les prénoms masculins du Québec (Montréal, Québec: Les Éditions de l'Homme, 2010).