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Breton History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Breton History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Ireland

The name Breton has a long French heritage that first began in northwestern region of Brittany. The name is derived from when the family lived in the province of Brittany, known to the French as Bretagne. Dwellers in this province were referred to as Bretons.

Early Origins of the Breton family

The surname Breton was first found in Brittany, where the family has held a family seat since ancient times.

Early History of the Breton family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Breton research. Another 310 words (22 lines of text) covering the years 1558, 1609, 1655, 1679, 1700, 1900 and 1913 are included under the topic Early Breton History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Breton Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of French surnames; in part, as spelling, and the spelling names was not yet standardized during the early development of the written French language. Later, there was much branching and movement of families, and spellings would change according to region. Variations of the name Breton include Breton, Bretone, Bretton, Breto, Bretto, Bret, Bretau, Breteau, Brettau, Bretteau, Bretaux, Brettaux, Lebreton, Lebreteau, Lebreto and many more.

Early Notables of the Breton family

Notable amongst this name at this time was

Denis Lebreton, Magistrate and Legislator

Breton World Ranking

In the United States, the name Breton is the 5,885^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name Breton is ranked the 398^th most popular surname with an estimated 11,649 people with that name. 2 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Breton is the 136^th popular surname. 3 France ranks Breton as 143^rd with 21,620 people. 4

Breton migration to the United States +

French settlers came early to North American, following in the wake of the explorers, and creating New France. Quebec City, founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain is said to have been the first American site founded as a permanent settlement, rather than as just a commercial outpost. But emigration was slow, in 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 French people in Quebec, and by 1663, when the region was officially made The Royal Colony of New France, by Louis XIV, there still only around 500 settlers. Over 2,000 would arrive during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. Youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted immigrants, both noble and commoner from France. By 1675, there were around 7000 French in the colony, and by that same year 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. Despite the loss of the Colony to England, the French people flourished in Lower Canada. Among settlers to North America of the Breton surname were

Breton Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Widow Breton, aged 53, who settled with her son Jean Pierre Breton, aged 17, in Charles Town in 1732
Mrs. Breton, aged 53, who arrived in South Carolina in 1732 5

Breton Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

J. Breton, aged 32, settled in New Orleans in 1820
Elizabeth Breton, aged 28, who settled in New York in 1820
James Breton, aged 60, settled in New Orleans in 1820
Rodrigo Breton, who arrived in Cartagena in 1834 5
Anton Breton, who arrived in New Spain in 1835 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Breton migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Breton Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Le Petit Breton, who landed in Montreal in 1660
François Breton, son of Jean and Marie, who married Barbe Dumont, daughter of André and Catherine, in Quebec on 11th November 1668 6
René Breton, son of Mathieu and Michelle, who married Charlotte De Chavigny, daughter of François and Éléonore, in Quebec on 6th November 1668 6
Jean Breton, son of Jean and Marthe, who married Marie Crête, daughter of Jean and Marguerite, in Quebec on 21st April 1687 6

Breton Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Jean-Hilaire Breton, son of Jean and Marie, who married Marie-Josephte Paquet, daughter of Pierre and Marie, in Quebec on 3rd September 1716 6
Jacques Breton, son of Nicolas and Marie, who married Marie-Catherine Vernas, daughter of Louis and Marie-Charlotte, in Saint-Augustin, Quebec on 23rd April 1731 6
Jean-Charles Breton, son of Nicolas and Catherine, who married Marguerite Léger, daughter of Jean and Marguerite, in Quebec on 16th November 1750 6
Louis Breton, son of Jean-Hilaire and Marie-Josephte, who married Marie-Thérèse Thomas, daughter of Jacques and Thérèse, in Charlesbourg, Quebec on 5th July 1756 6
Samuel Breton, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1761
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Breton (post 1700) +

Leonello Breton (1904-1979), American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to New Hampshire State Constitutional Convention from Manchester 8th Ward, 1956; Treasurer of New Hampshire Democratic Party, 1957 7
Philippe Louis Jean Breton (1936-2020), French Roman Catholic Bishop of Aire et Dax (2002–2012)
Jean-Baptiste Breton, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 8
Jules Adolphe Aimé Louis Breton, French painter
Thierry Breton (b. 1955), French executive, Chairman and CEO of France Télécom
André Breton (1896-1966), French poet and literary theorist
Henry Hugh Breton (1873-1936), Anglican clergyman and author
John Glossop Bythesea Le Breton (1884-1968), Soldier and Author
Nicholas Breton (1545-1626), English poet

Citations +

"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/
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)
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 25) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 11) Jean-Baptiste Breton. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html