Show ContentsCaron History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The French name Caron first arose during the Medieval period in Normandy. It is derived from when the family having lived at Cairon in Calvados, which was in Normandy.

Early Origins of the Caron family

The surname Caron was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where they held a family seat in the seigneurie of Cairon in Calvados, in the arrondissement of Caen, in the canton of Creully. Guillaume de Caron is the first on record, living in 1086 and Eudo, his father, is mentioned as living in Cairon at some unknown time before him. Cairon is located 15 kilometers southeast of Ryes.

Robert Caron settled in Beaupré and married Marie Crevet in Quebec on 25th October 1637. Together they had seven children to carry on the family name of Caron. Robert died on 8th July 1656. 1

Early History of the Caron family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Caron research. Another 155 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1166, 1351, 1460, 1475, 1497, 1521, 1541, 1599, 1600, 1603, 1605, 1648, 1655, 1664, 1666, 1672, 1673, 1677, 1711, 1725, 1774, 1775, 1784, 1804, 1808, 1822 and 1834 are included under the topic Early Caron History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Caron 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 Caron, including Caron, Cairon, Carron, Carone, Caronne, Carot, Caraud, Careau, Carreau, Carow, Carou, Carrou, Carous, Carrous, Caroux, Charon, Charron, Charone, Charonne, Charou, Charous, Charoux, Le Caron, Lecaron, Lecharon and many more.

Early Notables of the Caron family

Notable amongst the family in this period was

  • Sir Caron de Bosdegas, French knight who fought at the Combat of the Thirty, March 26th 1351
  • Firminus Caron (fl. 1460-1475) was a French composer, and likely a singer, of the Renaissance. He is said by Tinctor to have been the scholar of Binchois or Dufay. 2
  • Raymond Caron (1605-1666), was an Irish Franciscan friar and author; Firminus Caron (fl.1460-1475), French Renaissance composer; and Antoine Caron (1521-1599), French master glass maker, illustrator
  • François Caron (1600-1673), was a French Huguenot refugee to the Netherlands who served the Dutch East India Company, he rose from a cabin boy to be Director-General at Batavia recipient of the Order...

Caron World Ranking

In the United States, the name Caron is the 1,809th most popular surname with an estimated 17,409 people with that name. 3 However, in Canada, the name Caron is ranked the 63rd most popular surname with an estimated 34,899 people with that name. 4 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Caron is the 21st popular surname. 5 France ranks Caron as 86th with 31,100 people. 6


United States Caron migration to the United States +

Migration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until it fell in 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In the treaty of Utrecht, the Acadians were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. In 1793, the remaining French in these provinces came under British rule. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Caron were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Caron were

Caron Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Mr. Caron, who arrived in Louisiana in 1719 7
  • Francois Caron, who settled in Louisiana in 1756
  • Adelaide Caron, who arrived in New York in 1798 7
Caron Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Rosalie Caron, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1809
  • Aime Caron, aged 14, who landed in America in 1817 7
  • Antonio Caron, who landed in America in 1836 7
  • Henry Caron, aged 30, who arrived in New York, NY in 1854 7
  • William J Caron, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1858 7

Canada Caron migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Caron Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Robert Caron, who settled on the Coast of Beaupré in Quebec in 1636 married Marie Crevet in 1637
  • Jean Caron, son of Robert and Marie, who married Marguerite Gagnon, daughter of Jean and Marguerite, in Château-Richer, Quebec on 16th November 1661 8
  • Claude Caron, from Auvergne, who settled in Quebec in 1671
  • Robert Caron, son of Robert and Marie, who married Marguerite Cloutier, daughter of Jean and Marie, in Château-Richer, Quebec on 14th November 1674 8
  • Pierre Caron, son of Robert and Marie, who married Marie Bernier, daughter of Jacques and Antoinette, in Quebec on 19th February 1678 8
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Caron Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • François Caron, son of Robert and Marguerite, who married Françoise Paré, daughter of Joseph and Marie-Madeleine, in Sainte-Anne, Quebec on 31st January 1702 8
  • Claude Caron, son of Claude and Madeleine, who married Jeanne Boyer, daughter of Nicolas and Marguerite, in Montreal, Quebec on 12th November 1703 8
  • Ignace Caron, son of Robert and Marguerite, who married Marie Gaulin, daughter of Robert and Élisabeth, in Sainte-Famille, Quebec on 15th November 1707 8
  • François Caron, son of Pierre and Marie, who married Anne-Geneviève Domingo, daughter of Etienne and Marie-Reine, in Cap-Saint-Ignace, Quebec on 28th April 1710 8
  • Joseph Caron, son of Joseph and Élisabeth, who married Marie-Anne Fortin, daughter of Charles and Xainte, in Islet, Quebec on 1st June 1711 8
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Caron (post 1700) +

  • Wayne Maurice Caron (1946-1968), United States Navy sailor, recipient of the Medal of Honor, eponym of the USS Caron (DD-970)
  • Marc G. Caron (1946-2022), Canadian-born, American researcher and James B. Duke Professor of Cell Biology at Duke University
  • Technical Sergeant George Robert "Bob" Caron (1919-1995), American tail gunner aboard the B-29 Enola Gay during the historic bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima
  • Rose Caron (1857-1930), French operatic soprano
  • Pierre Caron (1875-1952), French historian and archivist, specialising in the French Revolution
  • Patrick Caron, French manager of French Equestrian Team
  • Jean-Claude Caron (1944-2021), French actor, best known for his role as Borelli in the series Navarro
  • Gérard Caron (1938-2020), French designer and co-founder of Carré Noir
  • Pierre Louis Auguste Caron, French colonel, who was named Knight of the Empire in 1810, then Baron of the Empire in 1813
  • Louis François Caron, French captain who was named Knight of the Empire in 1813
  • ... (Another 10 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  2. Grove, Sir George, A Dictionary of Music and Musicians (AD. 1450-1889) London: Macmillan1902, Print, 2 Vols
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
  5. "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
  6. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  7. 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)
  8. Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.


Houseofnames.com on Facebook