Pic History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The Pic family name derives from the Old French personal name Picot, or Pigot. 1

Alternatively, the name could have been derived from the French word "piquet" which was a pointed stake or peg used militarily by the French Army c. 1695. Later the term pikemen was derived by the British Army in the mid 1700s.

Early Origins of the Pic family

The surname Pic was first found in Brittany where they held a family seat at Beauchesne, and as the line was the main stem of this aristocratic family which would emerge as Viscounts d'Vaulogé, it was there that branches were formed in Brittany, Maine and Austria. They were originally from Picot de Saio in Normandy and were recorded there in 1086. 2

Early History of the Pic family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pic research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1651, 1708, 1720, 1734, 1781, 1791, 1813 and 1862 are included under the topic Early Pic History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pic Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of French surnames; in part, as spelling, and the spelling names was not yet standardized during the early development of the written French language. Later, there was much branching and movement of families, and spellings would change according to region. Variations of the name Pic include Picot, Picott, Picotte, Pickot, Picout, Picoud, Picque, Picquet, Picquot and many more.

Early Notables of the Pic family

Notable amongst this name at this time was

Eustache Picot (died 1651), a French musician and composer, sous-maître of the chapelle royale of Louis XIII. François Picquet (1708-1781) was a French Sulpician priest who emigrated to Montreal, Cana...
Count Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte, also known as La Motte-Picquet (1720-1791) was a French Navy officer and admiral

Pic Ranking

In France, the name Pic is the 3,042^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. 3

Pic migration to Canada +

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 Pic surname were

Pic Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Jean Jacques Pic, who landed in Canada in 1754

Citations +

Dionne, N.-E., Les Canadiens-Francais Origine Des Familles. Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 1969. Print
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)
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/