Contents [hide]

Constantine History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Constantine History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Ireland

The French family name Constantine is a patronymic name, derived from the Christian name of the bearer's father. The name is ultimately derived from the Latin name "Constans," which meant "steadfast" or "faithful." As a surname it seems to have developed independently in various regions of France including, Languedoc, Brittany, Anjou, Touraine, and Poitou.

Early Origins of the Constantine family

The surname Constantine was first found in Languedoc, where the earliest known bearers of this name are thought to have originated. However, the Constantine name was found in several regions from quite early times, with several different, perhaps even unrelated families taking on the surname. There was a noble family of feudal lords bearing the name in Poitou in the thirteenth century, and later, in the fifteenth century, there was another prominent family of that name among the nobility who held large fiefs in Brittany.

Walter Coutances (de Constantiis), (d. 1207), was "Bishop of Lincoln and Archbishop of Rouen, and is said to have been of English birth, the son of Rainfred and Gonilla; John de Schalby, in his compilation from the Lincoln records, states that he was a native of Cornwall. He may have been called of Coutances as he was sprung from the house of Corineus, the fabulous Trojan immigrant into Cornwall. He was clerk to Henry II and his eldest son, and is styled chaplain of Blythe. " 1

Early History of the Constantine family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Constantine research. Another 214 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1770, 1800 and 1902 are included under the topic Early Constantine History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Constantine Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of French surnames; in part, as spelling, and the spelling names was not yet standardized during the early development of the written French language. Later, there was much branching and movement of families, and spellings would change according to region. Variations of the name Constantine include Constans, Constan, Constant, Constanc, Constance, Consten, Constens, Constense, Constence, Constanse, Constane, Constene, Constante, Contans, Contan, Contant, Contance, Conten, Contens, Contense, Contence, Contanse, Contane, Contene and many more.

Early Notables of the Constantine family

More information is included under the topic Early Constantine Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Constantine Ranking

In the United States, the name Constantine is the 6,976^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2

Constantine migration to the United States +

French settlers came early to North American, following in the wake of the explorers, and creating New France. Quebec City, founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain is said to have been the first American site founded as a permanent settlement, rather than as just a commercial outpost. But emigration was slow, in 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 French people in Quebec, and by 1663, when the region was officially made The Royal Colony of New France, by Louis XIV, there still only around 500 settlers. Over 2,000 would arrive during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. Youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted immigrants, both noble and commoner from France. By 1675, there were around 7000 French in the colony, and by that 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. Despite the loss of the Colony to England, the French people flourished in Lower Canada. Among settlers to North America of the Constantine surname were

Constantine Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jon. Constantine, who settled in Virginia in 1637
Thomas Constantine, who landed in Maryland in 1675 3
Conrad Constantine, who landed in Delaware in 1693 3

Constantine Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jean Constantine, who settled in Virginia in 1700
Tho Constantine, who arrived in Virginia in 1700 3
Nicholas Constantine, who arrived in New York in 1798 3

Constantine Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Antonio Constantine, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1816 3
Francisco Constantine, who landed in Mobile County, Ala in 1835 3
John Constantine, aged 38, who arrived in New York in 1854 3
John Constantine, who settled in New York in 1854
Lefter Constantine, who landed in Texas in 1890 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Constantine migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Constantine Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Jane Constantine, who emigrated from Ireland to Saint John, New Brunswick in 1842
Miss. Bridget Constantine who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Horatio" departing 18th July 1847 from Limerick, Ireland; the ship arrived on 3rd September 1847 but she died on board 4

Constantine migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Constantine Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

William Constantine, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on September 3rd, 1820, settling in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. Francis Constantine, British Shoe Maker who was convicted in North Riding, Yorkshire, England for 10 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Asia" on 25th April 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1868 6
Mr. John Constantine, (b. 1819), aged 25, English labourer who was convicted in Yorkshire, England for 15 years for highway robbery, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 9th May 1844, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1877 7
Joseph Constantine, English convict from Lancaster, who was transported aboard the "Adelaide" on August 08, 1849, settling in Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip, Australia 8
Sarah Constantine, aged 59, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Navarino" 9

Constantine migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Constantine Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Robert Constantine, (b. 1813), aged 26, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Oriental" arriving in Port Nicholson, Wellington, New Zealand on 31st January 1840 10
Mrs. Constantine, (b. 1819), aged 20, British settler travelling from London with 2 children aboard the ship "Oriental" arriving in Port Nicholson, Wellington, New Zealand on 31st January 1840 10
M.A. Constantine, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ashburton" in 1857

Constantine migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 11

Constantine Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Charles Constantine, who arrived in Barbados in 1677

Contemporary Notables of the name Constantine (post 1700) +

Justin Constantine (d. 2022), American lieutenant colonel in the United States Marine Corps, attorney and inspirational speaker
Thomas A. Constantine (1938-2015), American Administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) (1994-1999)
Mildred Constantine (1913-2008), American curator at Museum of Modern Art
Storm Constantine (1956-2021), British science fiction and fantasy author, primarily known for her Wraeththu series
Eddie Constantine (1917-1993), born Edward Constantinowsky, American movie actor, singer, and novelist who appeared in 127 features
Learie Nicholas Constantine (1902-1971), Baron Constantine, West Indian cricket player and statesman, Trinidad's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, the UK's first black peer
Michael Constantine (b. 1927), American Emmy Award winning actor, probably best known for his role as the high school principal, Seymour Kaufman, on ABC's sitcom, Room 222
Major-General Charles Francis Constantine (1883-1953), District Officer Commanding 2nd Military District (1940-1943) 12
Ventan Constantine Yablonski (1923-2008), American football fullback who played four seasons with the Chicago Cardinals (1948-1951)
Fotis Constantine Kafatos FRS (1940-2017), Greek biologist, founding president of the European Research Council (ERC)

Historic Events for the Constantine family +

SS Newfoundland

Mr. Henry Constantine, Newfoundlander from Pouch Cove, who on the 30th March 1914 he was part of the Seal Crew of the "SS Newfoundland" leaving the ship to intercept the Stephano which took him to the hunting grounds, he disembarked to begin sealing, but was caught in a thickening storm, attempting to return to the Newfoundland he and the 132 crew made camp for two days the sealers were stranded on the ice in a blizzard attempting to return to the ship, he survived

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 70)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1820 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1820
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1840
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 17) Adelaide voyage to Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip, Australia in 1849 with 303 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adelaide/1849
South Australian Register Friday 22nd February 1856. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Navarino 1856. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/navarino1856.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, September 15) Charles Constantine. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Constantine/Charles_Francis/Canada.html