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Port History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Port History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

Noble surnames, such as Port, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the French people. The original bearer of the name Port, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of France. 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 Port family originally lived near a door or gate of particular interest, such as the gates to a fortified city or a unusually large or unique door. The name Port is derived from the Old French words "la" and "porte," which mean "the" and "door" respectively.

Early Origins of the Port family

The surname Port was first found in Berry, a former province until 1790 when it became a region in central France where this distinguished family held a family seat in d'Ysserteux, and were members of the aristocratic families of the region. In the same region of Berry they also branched to Riants.

The family moved north into Brittany at Kerduault, and to L'Estang and to Cree'Hanton in Brittany. They became the Barons de Vezins in that region. At Crozon in Brittany they became elevated to the nobility as the Comtes de Crozon. They also branched to Dauphiné to the south east, to Anjou (Vellade), to Perigord (Lubignac), and Theil in Poitou. They also branched south to Guyenne. The Marquis de la Porte eventually became the Comtes d'Hust and held a family seat in the west of France at Saintonge, Angoumois and Perigord.

Jacques Laporte, born in 1621, travelled from Perche, France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Nicole Duchesne, born in 1641, at Montreal in 1657. 1

Early History of the Port family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Port research. The years 1602, 1664, 1675, 1704, 1741, 1749, 1768, 1773, 1782 and 1818 are included under the topic Early Port History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Port Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Laport, Laporte, De La Porte, LaPort, LaPorte, Laporter, Laportere, Laporterie, Lapotre, Port, Porte, Porter, Portere, Porterie, Potre and many more.

Early Notables of the Port family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Charles de La Porte (1602-1664), a French nobleman and general, Marquis and later Duke of La Meilleraye and Duke of Rethel; and Roland Laporte (1675-1704), a French Protestant (Camisard) leader, also...
Jean-Pierre Duport (1741-1818) was a French cellist, born at Paris, Nov. 27, 1741. Considered the best pupil of Berthaut. Soon achieved a great reputation in Paris, but after 10 years of success start...

Port Ranking

In the United States, the name Port is the 11,000^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Port migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Port Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jacob Port, who arrived in Virginia in 1651 3
Elias Port, who landed in Virginia in 1658 3
James Port, who arrived in Maryland in 1665
William Port, who landed in Maryland in 1678 3

Port Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Ann Port, a bonded passenger, who settled in Annapolis, Maryland in 1726
Peter Port, aged 18, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1742 3
Johan Jacob Port, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1753 3

Port Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Port, who landed in Ohio in 1812 3
George Port, aged 25, who landed in New York in 1812-1813 3
George Port, who settled in New York in 1812
James Port, who landed in Ohio in 1812 3
Francisco Port, aged 42, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1831 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Port migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Port Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Adam Port, who settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1781

Port migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Port Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Charles Port, English convict who was convicted in Canterbury (St. Augustines), Kent, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 27th August 1841, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 4

Port migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Port Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

A. Port, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Asterope" in 1864
W.J. Port, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Asterope" in 1864
Margaret Port, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Asterope" in 1864
Thomas Port, aged 44, a plumber, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rooparell" in 1874
Susannah Port, aged 28, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rooparell" in 1874
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Port (post 1700) +

Whitney Eve Port (b. 1985), American television personality, fashion designer, and author
Michael D. Port (b. 1945), American former vice president, Umpiring for Major League Baseball from 2005 through 2011
Christopher Charles "Chris" Port (b. 1967), former American NFL football offensive lineman for the New Orleans Saints from 1991 to 1995
Chalmers "Chal" Port (1931-2011), American college baseball coach at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina; he coached for 27 seasons achieving a 641–386–2 record including leading Bulldogs to the 1990 College World Series
Richard Port, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Hawaii, 1980, 1996, 2004, 2008; Member of Democratic National Committee from Hawaii, 2008 5
May D. Port, American Republican politician, Member of New York Republican State Committee, 1930; Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1932 5
Fred Port, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Dakota, 1952 5
Edmund Port, American politician, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, 1951-53 5
Alexander Port, American politician, Member of Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from Huntingdon County, 1877-78, 1881-82 5
Alan J. Port, American politician, Representative from Illinois 18th District, 1990; New Alliance Candidate for U.S. Senator from Illinois, 1992 5
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Port family +

RMS Titanic

Mr. Frank Port, aged 32, English Steward from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and survived the sinking by escaping in life boat 13 6

USS Arizona

Mr. Stanley H. Port Jr., American Coxswain working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he survived the sinking 7

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/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html