Show ContentsPicart History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Picart has a long French heritage that first began in northwestern region of Brittany. The name is derived from when the family lived in Brittany.

Early Origins of the Picart family

The surname Picart was first found in Picardy (Picardie in French) where they held a family seat in the seigneurie of Vieilleville, an honor held by the family for several centuries.

"The Société des Antiquaires de Picardy, it appears, considers that Picard denoted a pike-man; and it is surmised that Picardie was famous tor this class of soldier." 1

Early History of the Picart family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Picart research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1540, 1620, 1669, 1670, 1673, 1682 and 1733 are included under the topic Early Picart History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Picart 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 Picart is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Picard, Piccard, Picaud, Piccaud, Picart, Piccart, Picarte, Piccarte, Picardet, Pichard, Pichat, Pichault, Picaut, Piccaut, Piccault and many more.

Early Notables of the Picart family

Notable amongst the family name at this period was

  • Jean Picard, a French bookbinder and bookseller, active in the 1540s; and Bernard Picart (1673-1733), a French engraver, known for his book-illustrations, including the Bible and Ovid

Picart Ranking

In France, the name Picart is the 2,233rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,864 people with that name. 2


United States Picart migration to the United States +

Migration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until the colony fell to the English in 1759. 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 the treaty of Utrecht, the Acadians were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. In 1793, the remaining French in these provinces came under British rule. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Picart were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Picart were

Picart Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Samuel Picart, who arrived in Leeward Islands in 1708-1709 3
Picart Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Pauline Picart, aged 25, who immigrated to the United States from Havre, in 1897
Picart Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Andree Picart, aged 25, who settled in America from Paris, France, in 1918
  • Gabriel Picart, aged 28, who immigrated to the United States from Le Havre, France, in 1920
  • Pedro Picart, aged 30, who landed in America, in 1920
  • Thomas Picart, aged 29, who immigrated to America, in 1922
  • John Ezekiel Picart, aged 29, who settled in America from Kingston, Jamaica, in 1923
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Picart migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Picart Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Hugues Picart, who landed in Montreal in 1660

Contemporary Notables of the name Picart (post 1700) +

  • Caroline Joan "Kay" Picart, American author, artist and radio host and producer
  • Gilbert Achart- Picart (b. 1918), French bobsledder at the 1948 Winter Olympics


  1. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  3. 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)


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