Show ContentsBreguet Surname History

Normandy (French: Normandie) is the region of ancient France from which the name Breguet was derived. It comes from when the family lived in Normandy.

Early Origins of the Breguet family

The surname Breguet was first found in Normandy, the former Duchy of Normandy, where this distinguished family held a family seat in ancient times.

The members of the Breguet family in France were well-known watch-makers, industrialists, and inventors. Among the more prominent members was Abraham Louis Breguet (1747-1823), whose inventions in the domain of the fabrication of watches were considerable to the advancement of the watch-making industry.

Abraham Louis Breguet's grandson, Louis Breguet (1804-1883), was among the notables of the 19th century, who created new precision instruments for the telegraph. His grandson, also named Louis (1880-1955), was in turn, a pioneer of modern aeronautics, being one of the first to build airplanes and helicopters in France. The Brèche and Brechard families were registered in Pas-de-Calais in 1820.

The name was first found in Canada with brothers, Pierre and Jean, who were born in 1626 and 1638. 1

Early History of the Breguet family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Breguet research. Another 40 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1634 and 1664 are included under the topic Early Breguet History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Breguet 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 Breguet, including Brechard, Bréchard, Brèche, Breche, Brechais, Brechet, Brecher, Labrechard, Labréchard, Labrèche, Labrechais, Labrechet, Labrecher, Brequard, Bréquard, Brecque, Brèque, Brequais, Brequet, Brequer, Labreque, Labrèque, Labrecque, Labréquais, Labroque, Labrocque, Labroquère, Bregard, Brégard, Breguais, Breguet and many more.

Early Notables of the Breguet family

More information is included under the topic Early Breguet Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Breguet family

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 Breguet 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 Breguet were Pierre Labrecque, who emigrated to Quebec; Jeanne Chotard Labrecque, who also emigrated to Quebec; Marianne Brecher, who arrived in Texas in 1844; Balthasaar Breche, who arrived in Texas in 1846.



  1. Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.


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