Bergeron History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The prestigious surname Bergeron comes from the beautiful and majestic country of France. Bergeron is a topographic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Topographical surnames were 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. All of these name types belong to a larger category of surnames, known as hereditary surnames. The name Bergeron is derived from the Old German word berg, which indicated someone who lived beside a hill or mountain.

Some sources also believe that the name Bergeron derived from the French word "berger", which translates to "shepherd". 1

Early Origins of the Bergeron family

The surname Bergeron was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France, where the family was anciently seated.

The family flourished on their estates for many centuries and intermarried with other distinguished families. Several members of this family were servicemen in the army and one became bishop at the church in Montpellier. Documents of 1820 show that the family was registered in several regions of Pas-de-Calais.

André Bergeron, born 1643, son of Pierre Bergeron and Catherine Marchand, came to New France from Saint-Saturnin-du-Bois, Charente-Maritime, France around the year 1666. He was employed in Lauzon, Quebec on the farm of Eustache Lambert and eventually owned his own business in Lauzon. André's descendants were still found in Lauzon as of 1909. 2

Early History of the Bergeron family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bergeron research. Another 53 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1500, 1641, 1655, 1672, 1694, 1741, 1839 and 1905 are included under the topic Early Bergeron History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bergeron Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Berger, Bergey, Bergez, Bergier, Bergeret, Bergerot, Bergereau, Bergeron, Bergerron, Bergerone, Bergeronne, Bergeronneau, Bergerat, Bergerie, Bergère, Bergière, Bergiron, Bergirone, Bergironne, le Berger, le Bergeron, de Bergeron, Leberger and many more.

Early Notables of the Bergeron family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Pierre Bergeron, a renowned historian and geographer in the late 1500's
Étienne Bergeron, born in 1741, one of the principal settlers in the region of Carleton (New Brunswick), Canada

Bergeron World Ranking

In the United States, the name Bergeron is the 1,216^th most popular surname with an estimated 24,870 people with that name. 3 However, in Canada, the name Bergeron is ranked the 45^th most popular surname with an estimated 39,915 people with that name. 4 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Bergeron is the 15^th popular surname. 5 France ranks Bergeron as 1,159^th with 4,747 people. 6

Bergeron migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bergeron Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

André Bergeron, who settled in Quebec from Charente-Maritime in 1666
André Bergeron, son of Pierre and Catherine, who married Marguerite Dumay, daughter of Jean and Jeanne, in Quebec on 9th July 1673 7
Jacques Bergeron, who arrived in Quebec from Guyenne in 1676
Francois Bergeron, who arrived in Quebec from Poitou in 1676
François Bergeron, son of Charles and Marie, who married Étiennette Lecler, daughter of Florent and Marie, in Trois-Rivières, Quebec on 3rd November 1676 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bergeron Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Michel Bergeron, who arrived in Quebec from Auvergne in 1701
Jean Bergeron, son of Jean and Marie, who married Marguerite Meunier, daughter of Julien and Louise, in Beauport, Quebec on 23rd February 1702 7
Jean Bergeron, son of Jean and Marie, who married Renée Bezeau, daughter of Pierre and Renée, in Charlesbourg, Quebec on 1st December 1703 7
Dominique Bergeron, son of Arnaud and Étiennette, who married Louise-Catherine Denis, daughter of Paul and Marie-Madeleine, in Quebec on 7th January 1704 7
Jacques Bergeron, son of André and Marguerite, who married Marie-Agnès Grenon, daughter of Pierre and Marie, in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec on 2nd April 1704 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Bergeron (post 1700) +

Troy Joseph Bergeron (b. 1983), American football wide receiver
Peter Francis Bergeron (b. 1977), American former Major League Baseball outfielder and current Major League scout
Wayne Bergeron (b. 1956), American jazz musician and trumpet player
Jean-François Bergeron (b. 1973), Canadian silver medalist boxer at the 1995 Pan American Games
Thomas "Tom" Bergeron (b. 1955), American Daytime Emmy and Primetime Emmy Award winning television personality and game show host, best known as the host of America's Funniest Home Videos (2001-2015) and host of the ABC reality series Dancing with the Stars (2005-)
Pat Bergeron, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Wisconsin Democratic State Central Committee, 1954 8
Lucien E. Bergeron, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to New Hampshire State Constitutional Convention from Rochester 4th Ward, 1956; Member of New Hampshire State Senate 20th District; Elected 1956 8
George Bergeron, American Republican politician, Candidate for New Hampshire State House of Representatives from Manchester 8th Ward, 1938 8
Florimond J. Bergeron, American politician, Mayor of Willimantic, Connecticut, 1950-57 8
Arthur J. Bergeron, American politician, Mayor of Berlin, New Hampshire, 1937 8
... (Another 16 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Dionne, N.-E., Origine Des Familles Canadiennes-Français. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. Print.
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html