Show ContentsBelliveau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Belliveau is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. The name Belliveau is a contraction of an Old French phrase meaning beautiful valley, and indicates that the original bearer lived in such a place at one time.

Early Origins of the Belliveau family

The surname Belliveau was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France, where the family held a family seat from ancient times in the town of Volnay in the district of Beaune.

Jean de Vaux was registered in 1295 as a squire in the fief at Volnay and is thought to be the patriarch of the family. Large areas of land were exchanged at the hands of Jean de Vaux who sold much of the family lands at Antigny to the Duke of Burgundy.

Nicolas De Veau, son of Henri and Anne, travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in the province of Quebec he married Marie-Anne Tremblay, daughter of Jacques, at Ange-Gardien on 4th October 1769. 1

Early History of the Belliveau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Belliveau research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1555, 1666, 1669 and 1813 are included under the topic Early Belliveau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Belliveau Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Beliveau, Béliveau, Belivaux, Bélivaux, Belliveau, Bélliveau, Bellivaux, Béllivaux, Belleveau, Bellevaux, de Bellevau and many more.

Early Notables of the Belliveau family

Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Belliveau Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Belliveau Ranking

In the United States, the name Belliveau is the 10,670th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2


United States Belliveau migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Belliveau Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Charles Belliveau, who arrived in South Carolina in 1755 with his wife and eight children
  • Jean Belliveau, who landed in South Carolina in 1755 3
  • Joseph Belliveau, who arrived in Connecticut in 1763 3
  • Joseph Belliveau, who settled in Connecticut in 1763 with his wife and child
  • Judith Belliveau who, at the age of 53, who settled in St.-Pierre-and-Miquelon in 1767

Canada Belliveau migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Belliveau Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Judith Belliveau, aged 53, who landed in St Pierre and Miquelon in 1767

Contemporary Notables of the name Belliveau (post 1700) +

  • Denis Belliveau, American photographer, author and explorer, best known for retracing Marco Polo's route from Europe to Asia and back and documenting his travels in the book titled In the Footsteps of Marco Polo
  • Pierre E. Belliveau (1896-1966), Canadian physician and politician in Nova Scotia who represented Clare in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1953 to 1963
  • Leopold F. Belliveau, Canadian politician, Mayor of Moncton, New Brunswick from 1988 to 1998
  • Pierre Belliveau, Canadian lawyer from New Brunswick
  • Eugene Belliveau (b. 1958), Canadian retired football defensive lineman
  • Sterling Belliveau, Canadian politician politician in Nova Scotia, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and Minister of Environment
  • Richard Belliveau (b. 1943), former Canadian diplomat, Canadian Consul in Shangai (1992–1995), High Commissioner to Brunei (1995–1997) and Ambassador to Algeria (2000–2004)


  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. 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)


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