Show ContentsBeaudoin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Beaudoin originated during the Dark Ages in France, in that southern region known as Languedoc. This family name is derived from the Germanic personal name Baldwin, which is composed of the elements "bald", which means bold or brave, and "wine", which means friend.

Early Origins of the Beaudoin family

The surname Beaudoin was first found in Brittany where the family held a family seat from ancient times.

By the 1400's they had branched into Maine where they spelt their name Beaudouin, and to Lorraine where they established their seat at Bozières and appear in the census lists in 1490, 1571 and 1710. During the 16th century they branched to Dauphiné and founded another branch in Lorraine where they held a family seat in 1542. In 1696, the family were confirmed in their nobility as Lords of Brittany with letters of patent, and a heraldic cap of nobility added to their coat of arms.

Jean Beaudoin, born in 1638, travelled from Tasdon, France to Montreal, Quebec. He was a member of the Seventh Squad of the Sainte-Famille Militia and was involved in several battles. Jean married Charlotte Chavin on 27th November 1663 and passed away in 1713. He was buried at Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec and has many descendants in Canada. 1

"Four Baudoins are at all events enumerated in the great gathering of the Ordre de Noblesse of the province in 1789; De Baudoin, Seigneur d'Avenel; De Baudoin, Seigneur du fief des Pins; Baudoin d'Espins; and Baudoin de Gouzeville." 2

Early History of the Beaudoin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Beaudoin research. Another 136 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1490, 1542, 1571, 1645, 1662, 1677, 1685, 1686, 1687, 1689, 1691, 1696, 1698, 1700, 1710, 1752 and 1768 are included under the topic Early Beaudoin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beaudoin 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 Beaudoin, including Beaudoin, Beaudoins, Beaudouin, Beauduin, Beauduoin, Beaudiun, Beauddoin, Beauddoins, Beauddouin, Beaudduin, Beaudduoin, Beauddiun, Bodoin, Bodoins, Bodouin, Boduin, Boduoin, Bodiun, Boddoin, Boddoyn, Boddoins, Boddouin, Bodduin, Bodduoin, Boddiun, Baudoin, Baudoins, Baudouin, Bauduoin, Baudiun, Bauddoin, Bauddoins, Bauddouin, Baudduin, Baudduoin, Bauddiun, Beudoin, Beudoins, Beudouin, Beuduin, Beuduoin, Beudiun, Beuddoin, Beuddoins and many more.

Early Notables of the Beaudoin family

Notable amongst this name at this time was Jean Baudoin (1662-1698), born in Nantes, France, he was ordained a priest in 1685 and traveled to New France in 1687 where he was pastor of Beaubassin in 1689. Gervais Baudouin (c. 1645 - 1700) was a French surgeon who emigrated to New...
Another 51 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Beaudoin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beaudoin World Ranking

In the United States, the name Beaudoin is the 3,491st most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 3 However, in Canada, the name Beaudoin is ranked the 158th most popular surname with an estimated 22,049 people with that name. 4 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Beaudoin is the 53rd popular surname. 5 France ranks Beaudoin as 1,361st with 4,185 people. 6


United States Beaudoin 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 Beaudoin were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Beaudoin were

Beaudoin Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Andre Beaudoin, who arrived in Louisiana in 1718 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Beaudoin (post 1700) +

  • Paul E. Beaudoin (b. 1960), American composer, theorist and author
  • Kenneth Lawrence Beaudoin (1913-1995), American poet
  • Douglas Lee "Doug" Beaudoin (b. 1954), former American NFL football safety who played from 1976 to 1981
  • First Lieutenant Raymond O Beaudoin (1918-1945), American soldier, awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1945 for his actions in World War II, eponym of the USNS Lt. Raymond O. Beaudoin (T-AP-189)
  • Aurelle Beaudoin, American Democratic Party politician, Member of New Hampshire State House of Representatives from Rochester 4th Ward; Elected 1938 8
  • Édouard Beaudoin Jr., French archer at the 1900 and 1908 Summer Olympics
  • Serge Beaudoin (b. 1952), Canadian retired professional ice hockey player
  • Nic Beaudoin (b. 1976), Canadian retired professional NHL, AHL, and UHL ice hockey player
  • Michelle Beaudoin (b. 1975), Canadian actress, best known for her role as Jenny Kelley in the sitcom Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
  • Louise Beaudoin (b. 1945), Canadian politician, MNA for Rosemont (2008-2012)
  • ... (Another 10 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


The Beaudoin Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Ubi crux, Ibi patria
Motto Translation: Where there is a cross, there is a country.


  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  2. Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 1 of 3
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
  5. "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
  6. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  7. 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)
  8. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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