Show ContentsBourg History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Bourg has been included within French history since the early portion of the Middle Ages. This Languedoc name is derived from a maker of wooden bowls and dishes which is derived from the Old French word "bolle", which means "bowl".

Early Origins of the Bourg family

The surname Bourg was first found in Languedoc, where the family held a family seat since ancient times.

The family is said to have had members who were respected in their community and among them was Jean-François-Pascal-Henri who was named Knight of Malta as a reward for his courageous conduct during the Crusades and also became Lieutenant in the regiment of Aunis. Other members were known to have participated actively in the events of their times and were granted titles as was Armand-Ferdinand-Bernard-Michel du Bourg, Knight of Malta, Deputy of Haute-Garonne and Knight of the Legion of Honour in the 18th century.

The Bourg family was considered as an honorable and esteemed family and to this day several French provinces are proud to have been the ancestral home for such a family.

Early History of the Bourg family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bourg research. Another 250 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1276, 1300, 1535, 1560, 1669, 1671, 1678, 1691, 1710, 1742 and 1760 are included under the topic Early Bourg History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bourg Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Bourg, including Bourg, Bourge, Bourgue, Bourges, Bourgues, Bourgg, Burg, Burge, Burgue, Burges, Burgues, Borg, Borge, Borgue, Borgues, de Bourg, de Bourge, de Bourgue, de la Bourg, de la Bourgue, de la Bourge, De Bourg, du Bourg, Bourgeat, Bourgeix, Bourgeault and many more.

Early Notables of the Bourg family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

  • Emmanuel du Bourg, Knight, Marquis of Bozas in Vivarais
  • Clementine de Bourges was an eminent composer of the 16th century. Her husband was killed fighting against the Huguenots in 1560, and she died of grief Sept. 30 in the following year. Her compositions...
  • Louis Bourguet (1678-1742) was a French polymath and correspondent of Leibniz who wrote on archaeology, geology, philosophy, Biblical scholarship and mathematics
  • Alexandre Bourg dit Belle-Humeur (1671-1760) was a notary and King's attorney living in what is now Nova Scotia, Canada. Born in Port-Royal (later Annapolis Royal) he married Marguerite Melanson and h...

Bourg Ranking

In the United States, the name Bourg is the 7,226th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [1] However, in France, the name Bourg is ranked the 1,564th most popular surname with an estimated 3,804 people with that name. [2]


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

Bourg Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Charles Bourg, who landed in Connecticut in 1763 [3]
  • Cicille Bourg, who landed in South Carolina in 1763 [3]
  • Francois Bourg, who arrived in South Carolina in 1763 [3]
  • Joseph Bourg, who landed in Connecticut in 1763 [3]
  • Jean Bourg, who arrived in South Carolina in 1763 [3]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Bourg Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Pierre Bourg, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1809 [3]

Canada Bourg migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bourg Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • François Bourg, son of Antoine and Antoinette, who married Madeleine Boudreau, daughter of Michel and Michelle, in Port-Royal, Quebec in 1664 [4]
Bourg Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Abraham Bourg, son of Bernard and Françoise, who married Marie Dugas, daughter of Claude and Françoise, in Port-Royal, Quebec on 27th November 1709 [4]
  • Michel Bourg, son of Michel and Élisabeth, who married Marie Cormier, daughter of Alexis and Marie, in Beaubassin, Quebec on 24th October 1713 [4]
  • Pierre Bourg, son of Abraham and Marie, who married Élisabeth Brossard, daughter of François and Catherine, in Port-Royal, Quebec on 22nd February 1714 [4]
  • François Bourg, son of Michel and Isabelle, who married Catherine Cormier, daughter of François and Marguerite, in Beaubassin, Quebec on 18th November 1721 [4]
  • Jean-Baptiste Bourg, who married Angélique Becquet in 1722 in Québec
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Bourg (post 1700) +

  • MacKenzie Richard Bourg (b. 1992), American singer-songwriter originally from Lafayette, Louisiana
  • Otis Bourg Sr., American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Louisiana, 1952 [5]
  • John Bourg, American politician, Mayor of Joliet, Illinois, 1979-87 [5]
  • Emile J. Bourg Sr., American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Louisiana, 1956 [5]
  • Dominique Bourg (b. 1953), French philosopher and professor at the Faculty of Geosciences and Environment of the University of Lausanne (Switzerland)
  • Guillaume "Willy" Bourg (1934-2003), Luxembourgish politician, General Secretary of the CSV (1984–1990)
  • Tony Bourg (b. 1912), Luxembourgish professor, author, linguist, and literary scholar and critic
  • Daniel de Bourg, English singer, songwriter, dancer, actor and model from Chelmsford, Essex
  • Anne Bourg (b. 1987), Luxembourgish footballer who plays as a defender for the Luxembourg women's national team
  • Antoine Bourg de Laprade, Member of the Legion of Honour, Lawyer, Treasurer of France and Legislator, France


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  3. 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)
  4. Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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