Show ContentsCoutu History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Noble surnames, such as Coutu, evoke images of the ancient province of Bourbonnais, which was the most central of all the French Provinces. The original bearer of the name Coutu, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of France. In France, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. The Coutu family originally lived in a village in Bourbonnais.

Early Origins of the Coutu family

The surname Coutu was first found in Bourbonnais, a historic province in the centre of France, now part of the modern département of Allier and Cher.

Early History of the Coutu family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coutu research. Another 29 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1443, 1632, 1634, 1730, 1732, 1750, 1790, 1791, 1815, 1837, 1848, 1868 and 1876 are included under the topic Early Coutu History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coutu Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Coutu, Coutin, Coutinet, Coutet, Couttet, Couton, Couthon, Coutou, Coutout, Coutouly, Coutisson, Cotin, Cotet, Coton, Cot, Cotard, Cottard, Coutil, Couture and many more.

Early Notables of the Coutu family

Notable amongst the family name in this period was

  • Guillaume Couture, who left for Canada in 1632. In 1634 he went with other Jesuits to live with the Hurons. Alphonse-Henri-Luçon Coutouly, born in 1730, was an author, inspector of the library of Tour...
  • Guillaume-Martin Couture was an architect in Rouen in 1732
  • Thomas Couture was a famous painter in Senlis in 1815 and was also a professor, publishing two volumes of art criticism

Coutu Ranking

In the United States, the name Coutu is the 15,881st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in Quebec, Canada, the name Coutu is ranked the 423rd most popular surname. 2


Canada Coutu migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Coutu Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Etienne Coutu was married in 1733 in Lavaltrie
  • Charlotte Coutu was married in 1742 in Lanoraie

Contemporary Notables of the name Coutu (post 1700) +

  • Mark S. Coutu, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Florida 1st District, 2004 3
  • Taylor Leon Coutu (b. 1987), American professional LPGA golfer
  • Brandon Coutu (b. 1984), American football placekicker
  • Raymond John "Jack" Coutu ARE, ARCA (b. 1924), English printmaker, sculptor, etcher, engraver, carver, watercolourist and teacher
  • Jean Coutu (b. 1927), Canadian pharmacist and businessman, founder of the Jean Coutu Group, made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1993
  • Jean Coutu (1925-1999), Canadian actor
  • Wilfrid "Billy" Arthur Coutu (1892-1978), professional NHL ice hockey player


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. "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
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, May 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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