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

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Dion History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The region of ancient France known as Auvergne is where the name Dion was born. Dion was a name for someone who lived in Dienne in Auvergne, a medieval French province on the Massíf Central in the south central part of France. 1

Alternatively, the name could have come from Dionne, in Burgundy. 2

Early Origins of the Dion family

The surname Dion was first found in Auvergne, a historic province in south central France where this renowned family has held a family seat since ancient times.

By the 17th century, this family were well established in Auvergne and several members of the family were distinctive through their contributions to the community in which they lived and were rewarded with lands, titles and letters patent confirming their nobility. In the 19th century, this honoured family was represented by Count Louis-Edouard-Marie-Hippolyte de Dienne, who was the ancient Flag Lieutenant to Admiral Montaignan.

Antoine Dionne, born in 1641, married Catherine Yvory, born in 1644, in 1660. They settled together on a farm in Sainte-Famille, Quebec, where they had their twelve children. Most of their children eventually settled in Kamouraska and have many ancestors in Canada. 3

Early History of the Dion family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dion research. Another 146 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1679 and 1684 are included under the topic Early Dion History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dion Spelling Variations

The many different spellings of French surnames can be partially explained by the use of local dialects and by the influence of other languages during the early development of the French language. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Dion is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Dionne, de Dion, Dion, Dienne, Dione, Diones, de Dionne, de Dienne, Deonne, Dienn, Diennes, Dienes, Dyone, Dyones, Deon, Deons, Deonns, Dyons, Dyon, Dyonne, Dyonnes and many more.

Early Notables of the Dion family

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

Dion World Ranking

In the United States, the name Dion is the 3,315^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 4 However, in Canada, the name Dion is ranked the 187^th most popular surname with an estimated 19,514 people with that name. 5 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Dion is the 61^st popular surname. 6 France ranks Dion as 1,272^nd with 4,431 people. 7

Dion 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 Dion surname were

Dion Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Bazille Dion, who arrived in New York, NY in 1763 8

Dion Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Lewis Dion who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1867
Louis G. Dion who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1867
Paul Dion, who landed in Iroquois County, Illinois in 1884 8
Georges Dion, aged 44, who immigrated to the United States, in 1896

Dion Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Arthur Dion, aged 43, who settled in America from Paris, France, in 1905
Cora Dion, aged 41, who settled in America from Paris, France, in 1905
Arthur Dion, aged 27, who landed in America, in 1910
Edna Dion, aged 23, who landed in America, in 1914
Correa Dion, aged 28, who immigrated to the United States, in 1919
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dion migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dion Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Jacques Dion, son of René and Gabrielle, who married Jeanne Renard, daughter of Etienne and Marie, in Quebec on 26th April 1672 9
Philippe Dion, son of Philippe and Françoise, who married Suzanne Métayer, daughter of François and Françoise, in Quebec on 13th November 1684 9

Dion Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Pierre Dion, son of Jacques and Jeanne, who married Grnrviève Fauteux, daughter of Pierre and Périnne, in Lorette, Quebec on 11th August 1705 9
Gabriel Dion, son of Philippe and Suzanne, who married Angélique De Lavoye, daughter of Jean and Barbe, in Saint-Nicolas, Quebec on 29th January 1716 9
François Dion, son of Philippe and Suzanne, who married Marie-Anne Houde, daughter of Jacques and Louise, in Quebec on 22nd January 1720 9
Jacques Dion, son of Pierre and Agnès-Anne, who married Louise De Lessard, daughter of Charles and Marie-Anne, in Quebec on 21st April 1721 9
Ignace Dion, son of Pierre and Agnès-Anne, who married Françoise De Lessard, daughter of Charles and Marie-Anne, in Quebec on 28th July 1727 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dion Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Angelus E. Dion, aged 34, who settled in Montreal, Canada, in 1908
Alfred Hector Dion, aged 28, who immigrated to Moose Jaw, Canada, in 1913
Alfred Dion, aged 58, who settled in Sherbrooke, Canada, in 1924

Dion migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 10

Dion Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Dion who settled in Barbados 1654-1663

Contemporary Notables of the name Dion (post 1700) +

Céline Marie Claudette Dion CC OQ, (b. 1968), Canadian multi-award Grammy, Juno, American Music Award winning singer from Charlemagne, Quebec,
Mark Dion (b. 1961), American fine artist
Colleen Dion (b. 1964), American actress
Royal Dion, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Hampshire, 1956, 1960 11
Henry Dion, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Montana, 1900 11
Donna J. Dion, American politician, Mayor of Biddeford, Maine, 2003 11
Alfred C. Dion, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Putnam, Connecticut, 1968-81 11
Albert N. Dion, American politician, Delegate to New Hampshire State Constitutional Convention from Manchester 13th Ward, 1956 11
Aime A. Dion, American politician, Delegate to New Hampshire State Constitutional Convention from Manchester 11th Ward, 1956 11
Renaud Dion (b. 1978), French professional road racing cyclist
... (Another 9 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Dion Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina
Motto Translation: Lord, my God, assist me now

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
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
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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html