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Robitaille History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Robitaille History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The history of the Robitaille name began during the Middle Ages in a region known as Brittany. The French name is derived from the Germanic name Robert, which is composed of the elements hrod, meaning famous, and berht, meaning bright.

Early Origins of the Robitaille family

The surname Robitaille was first found in Brittany.

The members of the branches Robitaille de Pont and de la Virginais were originally from Brittany. Olivier Robitaille, lord of la Busardière, was cited in the records of 1543. Jean Robitaille, originally from Auchy-au-bois in Pas-de-Calais, was mayor of Domfort and married Madame of Herbecourt. This celebrated family had their nobility status confirmed in 1730 and 1777. One of its members was a bishop of Coutenances in 1836.

Early History of the Robitaille family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Robitaille research. The years 1543, 1730, 1777 and 1836 are included under the topic Early Robitaille History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Robitaille Spelling Variations

Throughout the course of history most surnames have undergone changes for many reasons. During the early development of the French language, a son and father may not have chosen to spell their name the same way. Many are simple spelling changes by a person who gave his name, phonetically, to a scribe, priest, or recorder. Many names held prefixes or suffixes which became optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, we have many spelling variations of this name, Robitaille some of which are Robitaille, Robital, Robitail, Robitaile, Robitale and many more.

Early Notables of the Robitaille family

Notable amongst this name at this time was

Olivier Robitaille, lord of the Busardière

Robitaille World Ranking

In the United States, the name Robitaille is the 10,309^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name Robitaille is ranked the 319^th most popular surname with an estimated 13,954 people with that name. 2 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Robitaille is the 139^th popular surname. 3

Robitaille migration to the United States +

Approximately 110 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. France gave land incentives for 2,000 migrants during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. Migration to New France (Quebec) continued from France until it fell in 1759. In the year 1675 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. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Robitaille has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Robitaille were

Robitaille Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joseph Robitaille, who was enumerated in the censure of the 25 of May, 1700 at Biloxi
Jeanne-Marguerite Robitaille, who was married to Jean Mautembaunumère in 1731

Robitaille Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Ernest Robitaille, who arrived in California in 1879 4

Robitaille Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Henri Robitaille, aged 36, who immigrated to America from Paris, France, in 1909
Josephine Robitaille, aged 26, who landed in America from Bresse, France, in 1911
Julis Robitaille, aged 27, who immigrated to the United States from St. Nazaire, France, in 1915
Edouard Robitaille, aged 36, who immigrated to the United States from Bellancourt, France, in 1917
Edouard Robitaille, aged 37, who landed in America from French Front, France, in 1919
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Robitaille migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Robitaille Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Jean Robitaille, son of Jean and Martine, who married Marguerite Buletez, daughter of Isidore and Louise, in Quebec on 27th November 1670 5
Pierre Robitaille, son of Jean and Martine, who married Marie Maufait, daughter of Pierre and Marie, in Quebec on 5th May 1675 5

Robitaille Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Charles-François Robitaille, son of Jean and Marguerite, who married Marie-Louise Delisle, daughter of Louis and Louise, in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec on 26th october 1705 5
André Robitaille, son of Pierre and Marie, who married Marguerite Hamel, daughter of Jean-François and Anne-Félicité, in Lorette, Quebec on 19th January 1706 5
Jean Robitaille, son of Pierre and Marie, who married Marguerite Meunier, daughter of Mathurin and Marie-Madeleine, in Lorette, Quebec on 26th January 1717 5
Pierre Robitaille, son of Pierre and Marie, who married Madeleine Berthiaume, daughter of Jacques and Catherine, in Sainte-Foy, Quebec on 27th November 1721 5
Philippe Robitaille, son of Jean and Martine, who married Madeleine Warren, in Sainte-Foy, Quebec on 27th November 1721 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Robitaille Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Alice Robitaille, aged 25, who settled in Quebec, Canada, in 1924

Contemporary Notables of the name Robitaille (post 1700) +

Joseph Anthony "Chick" Robitaille (1879-1947), American Major League Baseball pitcher
John F. Robitaille, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Rhode Island, 2012
Louis Robitaille (b. 1982), retired Canadian ice hockey forward
Jean-Marc Robitaille (b. 1955), member of the Canadian House of Commons
J F Robitaille, Canadian singer-songwriter
Olivier Robitaille (1811-1896), Canadian physician and businessman
Louis Robitaille (b. 1957), Canadian ballet dancer
Lorenzo Robitaille (b. 1882), Canadian politician
Pat Robitaille, Canadian folk rock musician
Patrice Robitaille (b. 1974), Canadian actor and writer
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
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)
Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 2, Institut Drouin, 1958.