Leonhard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Germany

The surname Leonhard originates in Gascogne, France, is where Leonhard was first used as a surname. Leonhard was derived from the personal name Leonard, which means "lion-bold," and indicating that the original bearer was thought to be as bold as a lion.

Early Origins of the Leonhard family

The surname Leonhard was first found in Gascony (French: Gascogne), an area of southwest France bordering Spain, that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution, where the family held a family seat since ancient times.

The members of the family also branched into other regions of France. In Burgundy they settled in De Léonardy, which was part of the bailiwick of Charolles in 1789. In Brittany the members of the branch Léon settled in Bourgerel, in Ourmeaux and in Trévéret, and they also became the counts of Crozon.

Julien Leonard, born in 1665, son of Jacques and Scholastique (née Gilles), was a French doctor that settled in Quebec in the 17th century. He married Barbe LeFrançois, daughter of Charles and Marie-Madeleine (née Triot), at Château-Richer on 13th October 1698. They remained together in Quebec until Barbe passed away on 1st August 1700. 1

Early History of the Leonhard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leonhard research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1611, 1654, 1655, 1656, 1657, 1658, 1663, 1671, 1713, 1744, 1766 and 1793 are included under the topic Early Leonhard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leonhard Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Leonhard, including Léonard, Léonnard, Léonhard, Lénard, Liénard, Lenard, Lienard, Lionard, Lionhard, Léonart, Léonhart, Lénart, Liénart, Lionart, Lionhart, Lenart, Lienart, Léonardy, Léon, Léone, Léonne, Lion, Lione and many more.

Early Notables of the Leonhard family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Hugues de Lionne (1611-1671), a French statesman; and his son, Artus de Lionne (1655-1713), abbé and Bishop of Rosalie in partibus infidelium...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Leonhard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leonhard migration to the United States +

France was active as a cultural leader in the early 16th century. One particular area in which they lead was the exploration of the New World. The explorers, like Jacques Cartier in 1534, led the way to North America. Champlain, in 1608, made the first of twenty voyages to France to attract settlers and brought the first migrant in 1617. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec, and the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Leonhard has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Leonhard were

Leonhard Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johann Caspar Leonhard, who settled in America in 1709 with his wife and daughter
Nicolas Léonhard, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1749
Niclas Leonhard, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1749 2
Nicklaus Leonhard, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1773 2
Joh Conrad Leonhard, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1773 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Leonhard Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Johann Leonhard, who arrived in New York in 1843 2
Johann Jacob Leonhard, who landed in Texas in 1846 aboard the ship "York" 2
Peter Leonhard, who landed in North America in 1852 2
Jakob Leonhard, who landed in North America in 1853 2
Miss Leonhard, who landed in North America in 1853 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Leonhard (post 1700) +

James Andrew "Jim" Leonhard (b. 1982), American football safety in the National Football League
Wolfgang Leonhard (1921-2014), German political author and historian
Karl Leonhard (1904-1988), German psychiatrist
Kurt Albert Ernst Leonhard (b. 1910), German author, translator, and editor
Karl Leonhard Reinhold (1757-1823), Austrian philosopher
Anders Leonhard Zorn (1860-1920), Swedish etcher/sculptor/painter
Leonhard "Leonard" Lechner (1553-1606), German composer, kapellmeister, tenor and music editor
Leonhard Euler (1707-1783), Swiss mathematician and physicist, founder of the studies of graph theory and topology, known for his work in mechanics, fluid dynamics, optics, astronomy and music theory.
Leonhard Lapin (1947-2022), also known under the pseudonym Albert Trapeež, an Estonian architect, artist, architecture historian and poet
Leonhard Schmitz (1807-1890), Belgian historical writer, born at Eupen, near Aix-la-Chapelle

Historic Events for the Leonhard family +

Bismarck

Wilhelm Leonhard (1917-1941), German Bootsmaat who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 3

Citations +

Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
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)
Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details