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

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Tremblay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Scotland
England

The French name Tremblay first arose during the Medieval period in Normandy. It is derived from when the family having lived at Tremblay, in Normandy.

Early Origins of the Tremblay family

The surname Tremblay was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where the family held a family seat since early times.

Active in the conquest, they were awarded lands in England where their name became Trembles. Another branch moved to neighboring Flanders where they established themselves and gave their name to the land of Trembleur in the 1400's.

Interestingly, there are records of the family in Scotland in ancient times. "Walter de Trembley occupied the lands of Delany in the Mearns, 1263, and Robert de Tremblay witnessed a charter of lands in Fife by Sir Alexander de Moray, 1281. Robert de Tremblee who rendered homage in 1296 is probably Robert de Tremblay or Trembleye of Elgin en Moreve whose homage is recorded in the same year. " 1

By the 15th century the family again branched to Burgundy and settled in Geneva by 1620. Another branch was formed in Picardy, Bourgogne. One of the family's descendants was Abraham Trembley, who was a Swiss Naturalist during the 1700's and wrote "Mémoires pour sévir à l'histoire de polypes d'eau douce à bras en forme de cornes", in 1774.

Pierre Tremblay, son of Philibert and Jehanne (neé Coignet), was a farmer that arrived in Canada in 1647. Pierre married Ozanne-Jeanne Achon on 2nd October 1657. 2

Early History of the Tremblay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tremblay research. Another 21 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1577 and 1638 are included under the topic Early Tremblay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tremblay Spelling Variations

Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Tremblay, including Tremblay, Tremblai, Tremblaie, Tremblé, Tremblés, Tremblée, Tremblait, Tremblett, Tremblais, Tremblaies, Tremley and many more.

Early Notables of the Tremblay family

Notable amongst the family in this period was

François Leclerc du Tremblay (1577-1638), also known as Père Joseph, a French Capuchin friar, confidant and agent of Cardinal Richelieu...

Tremblay World Ranking

In the United States, the name Tremblay is the 3,676^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 3 However, in Canada, the name Tremblay is ranked the 3^rd most popular surname with an estimated 106,668 people with that name. 4 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Tremblay is the 1^st popular surname. 5 France ranks Tremblay as 6,178^th with 1,000 - 1,500 people. 6

Tremblay migration to the United States +

Migration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until it fell 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 Tremblay were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Tremblay were

Tremblay Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

F. Tremblay, aged 48, who immigrated to the United States from Paris, France, in 1910
Francois Tremblay, aged 58, who landed in America from Bordeaux, France, in 1915
Joe A. Tremblay, aged 22, who landed in America, in 1917
Auguste Tremblay, aged 19, who settled in America from Bordeaux, France, in 1917
William Tremblay, aged 24, who immigrated to the United States, in 1917
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Tremblay migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Tremblay Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Pierre Tremblay, son of Gilbert and Jeanne, who married Ozanne Achon, daughter of Jean and Hélène, in Quebec on 2nd October 1657 7
Pierre Tremblay, son of Pierre and Ozanne, who married Marie Roussin, daughter of Nicolas and Madeleine, in L'Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 15th November 1685 7
Michel Tremblay, son of Pierre and Ozanne, who married Geneviève Bouchard, daughter of Claude and Louise, in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec on 20th June 1686 7
Louis Tremblay, son of Pierre and Ozanne, who married Marie Perron, daughter of Daniel-François and Louise, in L'Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 27th November 1691 7
Jacques Tremblay, son of Pierre and Ozanne, who married Agathe Lacroix, daughter of François and Anne, in Sainte-Anne, Quebec on 5th November 1696 7

Tremblay Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Jean Tremblay, son of Jean and Françoise, who married Barbe Bousquet, daughter of Jean and Catherine, in Montreal, Quebec on 17th November 1709 7
François-Xavier Tremblay, son of Louis and Marie, who married Marie-Madeleine Bouchard, daughter of François and Marguerite, in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec on 24th November 1718 7
Antoine Tremblay, son of Michel and Geneviève, who married Marie-Anne Pilotte, daughter of Jean and Marie-Françoise, in Quebec on 14th May 1724 7
Louis Tremblay, son of Louis and Marie, who married Brigitte Fortin, daughter of Jacques and Catherine, in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec on 11th November 1726 7
Guillaume Tremblay, son of Louis and Françoise, who married Marie-Jeanne Glinel, daughter of Pierre and Geneviève, in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec on 23rd Novewmber 1729 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Tremblay Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Ulrique Tremblay, who settled in Québec in 1815
Prisque Tremblay, who settled in Québec in 1823
Flavien Tremblay, who settled in Québec in 1826
Mr. Mitchel Tremblay, aged 33, French farmer, settled in Tilbury West, Ontario prior to the 1871 Census of Canada 8
Mrs. Angelic Tremblay, aged 30, French settler, settled in Tilbury West, Ontario prior to the 1871 Census of Canada 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Tremblay Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Miss A. Tremblay, aged 24, who immigrated to Montreal, in 1906
Mr Molasques Tremblay, aged 46, who settled in Dawson City, in 1906
Mrs. G. Tremblay, aged 64, who immigrated to Montreal, in 1906
Francois Tremblay, aged 33, who settled in Montreal, Canada, in 1909
George Tremblay, aged 31, who immigrated to Quebec, Canada, in 1915
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Tremblay (post 1700) +

Paul G. Tremblay (b. 1971), American author and editor of contemporary horror, dark fantasy, and science fiction
Karl Tremblay (1976-2023), Canadian singer, lead singer of Les Cowboys Fringants
Suzanne Tremblay (1937-2020), Canadian politician who served as a Bloc Québécois member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2004
Ghyslain Tremblay (1951-2020), Canadian actor and comedian from Saguenay, Quebec
Jean-Claude Tremblay (b. 1939), Canadian defenceman in the NHL
Rodrigue Tremblay (b. 1939), Canadian economist, humanist and politician
Michel Tremblay (b. 1933), Canadian politician and chairman of the board of CJEM-FM in Edmundston, New Brunswick since 2006
Michel Tremblay CQ (b. 1942), Canadian novelist and playwright
Joseph Daniel Mario Tremblay (b. 1956), Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former coach in the National Hockey League
Lucie Blue Tremblay (b. 1958), Canadian folk singer-songwriter
... (Another 12 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
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/
"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
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 2, Institut Drouin, 1958.
Canada, Library and Archives. (retrieved 8 Apr. 2020, www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1871/Pages/1871.aspx.)