Baptiste History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Portugal
England

The name Baptiste dates back to the days of Medieval France, in the region of Normandy. It is derived from their residence in the seigneury of Batiste, which was named after Saint Jean Baptiste.

Early Origins of the Baptiste family

The surname Baptiste was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where they held a family seat in the Seigneurie of Batiste in the Benefice De Pardieu. Saint Jean Baptiste (St Jean le Precurseur) gave origin to the surname Baptiste.

Early History of the Baptiste family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Baptiste research. Another 43 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1631, 1644, 1663, 1681, 1691, 1714 and 1724 are included under the topic Early Baptiste History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Baptiste Spelling Variations

Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Baptiste, including Baptiste, Baptist, Batiste, Batist, Batis, Batie and many more.

Early Notables of the Baptiste family

Notable amongst the family in this period was

Jean Baptiste de Champaigne (1631-1681), a Flemish Baroque painter and teacher; and Pierre Maisonnat dit Baptiste (1663-1714), a French privateer famous for the success he had against New England merc...
Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours (1644-1724) was born a Princess of Savoy and became the Duchess of Savoy by marriage. At the time of her death she was the mother of the King of Sardinia as well...

Baptiste Ranking

In the United States, the name Baptiste is the 3,302^nd most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Baptiste is ranked the 1,758^th most popular surname with an estimated 3,462 people with that name. 2

Baptiste migration to the United States +

Approximately 110 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. France gave land incentives for 2,000 migrants during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. Migration to New France (Quebec) continued from France until it fell in 1759. In the year 1675 the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Baptiste has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Baptiste were

Baptiste Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jean Francois Baptiste, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1753 3
Jean Frans Baptiste, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1753 3
Jean Baptiste, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1770 3

Baptiste Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Baptiste, aged 42, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1827 3
J Baptiste, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 3

Baptiste migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Baptiste Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Louisa Baptiste, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elizabeth and Henry" on 14th September 1846, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Baptiste (post 1700) +

Kirk Baptiste (1962-2022), American gold and silver medalist track and field athlete, who mainly competed in the 200 metres from Beaumont, Texas
Bryan J. Baptiste (1955-2008), American Republican politician, Mayor of the County of Kauai in Hawaii from 2002 until his death 5
Norman Jn. Baptiste (b. 1953), American politician, Member of Virgin Islands legislature from St. Croix, 1999- 6
Henry-Jean Baptiste (1933-2018), French politician from Martinique who represented Mayotte in the French National Assembly from 1986 to 2002
Louis Jean Baptiste de Lavalette, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 7
Eric Jean Baptiste (1970-2022), Haitian politician and entrepreneur from Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Mrs. Alison Jill Baptiste C.B.E. (b. 1965), British Flood and Coastal Risk Management Director for Environment Agency, was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 2018 for services to the Environment by Her Majesty The Queen 8
Denys Baptiste (b. 1969), English two-time MOBO Award nominated jazz musician
Marianne Raigipcien Jean- Baptiste (b. 1967), Academy Award-nominated British actress
Franklyn Baptiste (b. 1973), Grenadian football player
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth-and-henry
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2013, February 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, March 30) Louis Baptiste. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists