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

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Comeau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The enchanting region of Bourgoigne was the historical homeland of the prominent surname Comeau. Comeau is a topographic surname, which is a type of hereditary surname. These 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.

Early Origins of the Comeau family

The surname Comeau was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France, where this family was established in earlier times.

The family can be traced back to Guiot Comeau, who was qualified as a lord and recipient of Pouilly-en-Auxois in 1520. His son, Claude Comeau, had among other children, a son, Jean Ier, a criminal lieutenant-general in the bailiwick of Dijon, and another son, Jean, a man-at-arms in the company of the Count of Charnay, then a house marshal in the company of Souhey, who was ennobled in 1603 and who became the father of the family branches of la Serrée and Thoisy.

Antoine Comeau was chancellor of la Sainte-Chapelle, an advisory clerk in 1630, Lord Chancellor in the parliament of Dijon and lord of Pont-de-Vaux from 1671 to 1679. Another member of the family, Claude, was a ordinary gentleman in the King's court. Some members of this important family also established themselves in other regions of France, especially in Normandy, where they stayed at de Commeaux, a seigniory established in 1740 for De Langheac. The family formed alliances with other important families, such as the Colombet, Colard, Morin, Jant, Jacob, Cochet, Brocard and the Valon families.

Jean Comeau, son of Pierre and Rose, settled in Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Acadia he married Françoise Hebert, daughter of Étienne and Marie, at Port-Royal in 1679. 1

Early History of the Comeau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Comeau research. The years 1643, 1659 and 1682 are included under the topic Early Comeau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Comeau Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Comeau, Commeau, Comeaux, Commeaux, Comot, Commot, Comaud, Commaud, Comault and many more.

Early Notables of the Comeau family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Pierre Comeau, a criminal lieutenant in Dijon, a viscount mayor in 1643 and 1659, and lord of Créancy in 1682

Comeau World Ranking

In the United States, the name Comeau is the 5,927^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Comeau is ranked the 308^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,330 people with that name. 3 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Comeau is the 394^th popular surname. 4

Comeau migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Comeau Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Henry Comeau, who arrived in Virginia in 1700 5
Alexandre Comeau, who landed in South Carolina in 1755 5
Alexandre Comeau, who arrived in South Carolina in 1775

Comeau Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Lea Comeau, aged 19, who immigrated to the United States from Turry, France, in 1907
Emile A. Comeau, aged 37, who landed in America, in 1918
Camille Comeau, aged 24, who immigrated to the United States from Paris, France, in 1919
Clifford Comeau, aged 21, who settled in America, in 1923
Charles Comeau, aged 22, who landed in America from Selestal, France, in 1924

Comeau migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Comeau Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Maurice Comeau, who, at the age of 68 settled in St. Pierre in 1767
Honore Comeau, who arrived, at the age of 55, in St. Pierre in 1767 with his wife, Marguerite, aged 33
Honore Comeau, aged 55, who landed in St Pierre and Miquelon in 1767
Joseph Comeau, aged 41, who arrived in St Pierre and Miquelon in 1767
Maurice Comeau, aged 68, who landed in St Pierre and Miquelon in 1767

Comeau Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Mary Ealeanor Comeau, aged 3, who immigrated to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 1906
George Comeau, aged 17, who settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1919
Henry Comeau, aged 60, who immigrated to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 1925

Contemporary Notables of the name Comeau (post 1700) +

Andy Comeau (b. 1970), American actor
Andre Comeau (b. 1971), American singer and songwriter
Michael G. Comeau, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Maryland, 1996; Candidate for Maryland State House of Delegates District 35-A, 1998 6
Gerald J. Comeau PC (1946-2023), Canadian politician who served as a Senator and as a Member of Parliament
Ambroise-Hilaire Comeau (1860-1911), Canadian merchant and politician in Nova Scotia
Louis-Roland Comeau CM (b. 1941), Progressive Conservative party member of the Canadian House of Commons
Napoléon-Alexandre Comeau (1848-1923), Canadian self-taught naturalist and politician, eponym of the city of Baie-Comeau, Quebec
Joseph Willie Comeau (1876-1966), Canadian educator and politician in Nova Scotia
Phil Comeau CM, Canadian film and television director
Raynald "Rey" Xavier Comeau (b. 1948), Canadian retired professional NHL ice hockey forward
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Comeau family +

Halifax Explosion

F. C. Comeau, Canadian resident from Ashmore Digby County, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 7

Citations +

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
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance