Show ContentsArchambeau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Archambeau surname is derived from a personal name, which derives from the Latin "Arcambaldus". According to etymologists, this personal name is in turn derived from the ancient Germanic elements "Ercan", meaning "precious", and "bald", meaning "bold" and "daring". 1

Early Origins of the Archambeau family

The surname Archambeau was first found in Limousin, situated in the north-western part of the Massif-Central where one can trace the origin of this eminent family settled with lands and seats.

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance some members of the family distinguished themselves through many contributions to the community and province in which they held a family seat, and some were granted certain privileges, land and a place amongst the French nobility. Through the years, some of the members branched to Orleans and south of Paris. Thus the province of Burgundy has been the seat of the eminent family of the Archambault de Beaunes for several centuries.

There is evidence of the family later branching northwards, under the name of Archambault, as the name can be found today in the Parisian region as well as in the former province of Orléanais, located around the middle of Loire. This was part of the Royal domain since the 10th century, and which was to be annexed to the French crown in the middle of the 15th century. The noble family of Archimbaud also settled in the province of Provence, located in the South of France.

Early History of the Archambeau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Archambeau research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1242, 1604 and 1688 are included under the topic Early Archambeau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Archambeau Spelling Variations

History has changed the spelling of most surnames. During the early development of the French language in the Middle Ages, a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there spelling variations of the name Archambeau, some of which include Archambault, Archambaut, Archambeault, Archambeau, Archambeaux, Archambau, Archambaux, Archambot, Archambod, Archambode, Archambold, Archambolde, Archambote, Archambolt, Archambolte, Archambauld, Archambaulde, Archambaud, Archambaude, Archambaute, d'Archambault, d'Archambaut, d'Archambeault and many more.

Early Notables of the Archambeau family

Another 41 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Archambeau Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Archambeau migration to the United States +

By 1643 there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Since immigration was slow, 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. By the same year 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 Archambeau 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 Archambeau were

Archambeau Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Joseph Archambeau, who landed in America in 1794 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Archambeau (post 1700) +

  • Robert Archambeau (1933-2022), American-born, Canadian ceramic artist and potter
  • Charles B. Archambeau, American geophysicist
  • Lester Milward Archambeau III (b. 1967), American National Football League defensive end who played from 1990 to 2000
  • Shellye Archambeau, American businesswoman and former CEO of MetricStream
  • Robert Archambeau (b. 1968), Canadian poet and literary critic


  1. Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. 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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