Duplessis History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

Noble surnames, such as Duplessis, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the French people. The original bearer of the name Duplessis, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of Maine. 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 Duplessis family originally derived its surname from the place called Plessis, which was in Maine.

Early Origins of the Duplessis family

The surname Duplessis was first found in Maine. The name Du Plessis is cited since the thirteenth century with a family of Chantillon, originally from Maine, who possessed the marquisate of Nonant. Geoffroy Du Plessis, chancellor of the Church of Tours and vicar, was elected bishop of Évreux, a commune located in Normandy, in 1310. Perrot Du Plessis was a squire in 1355.

Nicolas Duplessis settled at Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec during the 17th century. In 1663, after his arrival in Canada, Nicolas married Marie Crevier, daughter of Christophe and Jeanne (née Enrad). 1

Early History of the Duplessis family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Duplessis research. The years 1549, 1554, 1586, 1605, 1627, 1630, 1663, 1680, 1690, 1694, 1699, 1725, 1727, 1732, 1733, 1735, 1740, 1741, 1750, 1766 and 1774 are included under the topic Early Duplessis History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Duplessis Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Duplessis, Duplesis, Duplessi, Du Plessis, Duplessy, Du Plessy and many more.

Early Notables of the Duplessis family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis (1699-1774), born Giovanni Claudio Ciambellano, Italian-born, French goldsmith, sculptor and ceramics modeller, bronze-founder and decorative designer
Stanislas Duplessis was a Benedictine monk in Douai in 1740
Bertaux-Jean Duplessis was an artist and engraver in Paris around 1750
Jacques Vigouroux Duplessis, also Jacques Vigoureux-Duplessis (c.1680-1732) was a French painter

Duplessis World Ranking

In the United States, the name Duplessis is the 7,760^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Duplessis is ranked the 7,384^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 3 And in South Africa, the name Duplessis is the 46^th popular surname with an estimated 86,080 people with that name. 4

Duplessis migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Duplessis Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Charles-Denis Duplessis married in America in 1742
Marie Duplessis, aged 47, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1785 5

Duplessis migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Duplessis Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Marguerite Duplessis, who landed in Quebec in 1664
Anne Duplessis married in 1665 in Quebec
Francois Duplessis married in 1689 in Champlain, Quebec

Contemporary Notables of the name Duplessis (post 1700) +

Rachel Blau DuPlessis (b. 1941), American poet and essayist
Jean-Baptiste Vigoureux Duplessis, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 6
Anne Lucile Philippe Laridon Duplessis (1770-1794), wife of the French revolutionary and journalist Camille Desmoulins
Joseph-Siffred Duplessis (1725-1802), French painter, known for the realist style and the immediacy of his portraits; his portrait of Benjamin Franklin (1778) is still reproduced on the U.S. hundred dollar bill
Marie Duplessis (1824-1847), born Alphonsine Rose Plessis, a French courtesan and mistress, inspiration for Marguerite Gautier, the main character of La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas the younger, one of Duplessis' lovers
Alexandre Duplessis (b. 1970), Canadian politician, 6th Mayor of Laval, Quebec (2012-2013)
Josée Duplessis, Canadian politician, Chair of the Montreal Executive Committee in 2013
Nérée Le Noblet Duplessis (1855-1926), Canadian politician, Mayor of Trois-Rivières and Member of the Legislative Assembly, father of Premier Maurice Duplessis
Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, Haitian-born Grammy Award-winning musical composer and record producer
Suzanne Duplessis (b. 1940), Canadian Member of Parliament, Secretary to the Minister for External Relations and International Development
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

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/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"Most Common Last Names in South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/surnames
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)
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, November 3) Jean-Baptiste Duplessis. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html