Show ContentsDagle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Of all the French names to come from Normandy, Dagle is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived at the castle of L'Aigle, on the River Risle.

Early Origins of the Dagle family

The surname Dagle was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where this distinguished family held a family seat. Engenoulf de L'Aigle was the son of Fulbert de Beine, founder of the castle of l'Aigle on the River Risle in the arrondisement of Mortagne in Orne. Engenoulf had three sons - Roger who was slain in 1060, Richard who joined Duke William in his conquest of England and was granted the lands on which the Battle of Hastings took place, and Gilbert who was given the castle of Exmes by Duke Robert of Normandy who made him Viscount of that county. He was buried at Saint Sulpice after being mortally wounded in battle.

Jean Daigle, born in 1649, son of Georges and Marie Daigle (neé Chauvin), married Marie-Anne Croteau in Charlesbourg, Quebec on 5th November 1685 and he died in 1700. 1

Early History of the Dagle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dagle research. Another 52 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1789 is included under the topic Early Dagle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dagle 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 Dagle, including Daigle, Laigle, D'Aigle, L'Aigle, DeAigle and many more.

Early Notables of the Dagle family

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

Migration of the Dagle family

Approximately 110 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. France gave land incentives for 2,000 migrants during the next decade. 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. Migration to New France (Quebec) continued from France until it fell in 1759. In the year 1675 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 Dagle 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 Dagle were Charles and Marie Daigle who settled with Simon in Maryland in 1763; Christopher Daigle settled in Virginia in 1652.



  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print


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