Show ContentsRenau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The prestigious French surname Renau is a proud sign of a rich and dynamic ancestry. Many of the most common French surnames are derived from personal names of Germanic origin. They derive from the language of the Visigoths, who controlled France between the mid-5th and early 8th centuries. The French Renau surname comes from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements "ragin," meaning "counsel," and "wald," meaning "rule."

Early Origins of the Renau family

The surname Renau was first found in Lorraine where they held a family seat.

They also branched to Brittany where they held a family seat at Beauregard, and to Beauvais. The family branched to Champagne and held a family seat at Landes. In Provence they were the Marquis de Aleine. Bernard Renau d'Elissagaray (1652-1719), invented a flat-bottomed boat. He was an engineer of the French Navy. After the French Revolution they were made Barons of the Empire.

Guillaume Renaud, born in 1643, son of Guillaume and Suzanne, travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Marie Delamarre, born in 1650, daughter of David and Anne, on 27th November 1668. They remained together in Quebec until Marie's death on 23rd December 1708. Guillaume passed away on 6th January 1709. 1

Early History of the Renau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Renau research. Another 30 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1527, 1568, 1581, 1591, 1606, 1624, 1662 and 1701 are included under the topic Early Renau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Renau Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Renault, Renauld, Renaut, Renau, De Renault, de Renault, De Renaud, de Renauld, Renaud, Des Renaud, des Renaud and many more.

Early Notables of the Renau family

Notable in the family name was

  • Renaud de Beaune (1527-1606) of Tours, a French Catholic ecclesiastic, who was made Bishop of Mende in 1568, Archbishop of Bourges in 1581, and was made the grand almoner of King Henry IV of France in...
  • Jean Renaud de Segrais (1624-1701), was a French poet and novelist born in Caen, elected to the Académie française in 1662...


United States Renau migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Renau Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Claude Renau, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1749 2
  • Frantz Renau, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1752 2
  • Peter Renau, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1752 2
  • Joseph Renau, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1764 2
Renau Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Lambert Heinr Renau, who arrived in America in 1845 2
  • John Renau, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1857 2
  • Wilhelm Renau, who arrived in Ohio in 1869 2


  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  2. 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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