Guillaume History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The Guillaume family can find its origins within the landscape of Medieval France, particularly in that coastal region once known as Normandy. Their name is derived from the popular Norman given name William, which is composed of the elements will, meaning desire, and helm, meaning protection or strength.

Early Origins of the Guillaume family

The surname Guillaume was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where they held a family seat and were conjecturally descended from the Comte D'Evroux, in the castle of Evreux. Guillemets, also called angle quotes, Latin quotation marks, or French quotation marks are named after Guillaume Le Bé (1525-1598), the French punchcutter and engraver

Early History of the Guillaume family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Guillaume research. Another 149 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1070, 1087 and 1816 are included under the topic Early Guillaume History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Guillaume Spelling Variations

French surnames were subject to numerous alterations in spelling because of the various cultural groups that inhabited specific regions. Eventually, each region possessed its own local dialect of the French language. The early development of the French language, however, was also influenced by other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heavily from the Italian language during the Renaissance. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Guillaume is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Guilaume, Guillaume, Guilaum, Guillamauax, Guillemot, Guillaumie, Guillaumes, Guillaumaud, Guillaumaut, Guillaumard, Guillaumart, De Guillaume and many more.

Early Notables of the Guillaume family

Notable amongst the family in this period was

Count Guillaume of Castle Evreux

Guillaume Ranking

In the United States, the name Guillaume is the 15,813^rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Guillaume is ranked the 110^th most popular surname with an estimated 26,291 people with that name. 2

Guillaume migration to the United States +

By 1643 there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Since immigration was slow, early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. 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 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Guillaume has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Guillaume were

Guillaume Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Claude Guillaume, aged 18, who arrived in Louisiana in 1719 3
Jean Guillaume, aged 17, who landed in Louisiana in 1719 3
Mr. Guillaume, who arrived in Louisiana en 1756

Guillaume Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Charles Guillaume, who landed in Massachusetts in 1864 3

Guillaume migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Guillaume Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Valentin Guillaume, son of François and Jeanne, who married Marguerite Barabé, daughter of Noel and Marguerite, in Sainte-Croix, Quebec on 10th February 1720 4
Jean Guillaume, son of Marc and Jacqueline, who married Françoise Deslauriers, daughter of Jean and Marie, in Sault-au-Récollet, Quebec on 16th October 1741 4
Julien Guillaume, son of Jean and Périnne, who married Marie-Anne Boivin, daughter of François and Jeanne-Angélique, in Montreal, Quebec on 27th October 1750 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Guillaume (post 1700) +

Robert Guillaume (1927-2017), born Robert Peter Williams, an American two-time Emmy Award and Tony Award-winning actor, best known for his role as Benson on the TV series Soap, the spin-off Benson as the voice of Rafiki in Disney's 1994 animated film "The Lion King"
Frédéric François Guillaume de Vaudoncourt, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 5
Paul Guillaume, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 6
Joseph Guillaume, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 7
Henri Guillaume de Furstemberg, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 8
General Augustin-Lon Guillaume (1895-1983), French President of Chief of Staffs' Committee (1954-1956) 9
Gustave Guillaume (1883-1960), French linguist
Paul Guillaume (b. 1878), French psychologist
Jean-Baptiste Claude Eugène Guillaume (1822-1905), French sculptor
Charles Édouard Guillaume (1861-1938), French-Swiss physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1920
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"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/
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.
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, March 6) FrÃ©dÃ©ric Guillaume. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, March 6) Paul Guillaume. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, March 6) Joseph Guillaume. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, March 5) Henri Guillaume. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 5) Augustin-Lon Guillaume. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Guillaume/Augustin-L%C3%A9on/France.html