Show ContentsDubois History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Dubois is a ancient French name from Brittany (French: Bretagne). It was a name given to a person who was a boissel, a person who measured corn in the market or someone who made bushel baskets for corn. It is important to realize that wheat was called corn in the medieval period, therefore a boissel would have been working with grain, not maize.

Early Origins of the Dubois family

The surname Dubois was first found in Auvergne and Bas-Limousin where they are recorded as an ancient family with lands and estates.

René Dubois, born in 1630, travelled from Poitou, France to Quebec in the 17th century. Along with his wife, Anne-Julienne (née Dumont), they completed their home in Quebec on 25th November 1665. Together they had eight children and now have ancestors all throughout Canada. 1

Early History of the Dubois family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dubois research. Another 227 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1290, 1346, 1447, 1529, 1584, 1604, 1638, 1656, 1694 and 1723 are included under the topic Early Dubois History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dubois Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Dubois, du Bois, Duboie, Duboi, Duboy, Duboys, Duboit, Dubbois, Dubboie, Dubboi, Dubboy, Dubboys, Dubboit and many more.

Early Notables of the Dubois family

Notable amongst the family was

  • François Dubois (1529-1584), a French Huguenot painter
  • Jean Dubois the Elder (1604-1694), the French landscape painter and painter to the king
  • Guillaume Dubois (1656-1723), French cardinal and statesman

Dubois World Ranking

In the United States, the name Dubois is the 1,248th most popular surname with an estimated 24,870 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Dubois is ranked the 192nd most popular surname with an estimated 19,100 people with that name. 3 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Dubois is the 72nd popular surname. 4 France ranks Dubois as 3rd with 95,998 people. 5


United States Dubois migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dubois Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Abraham DuBois, who arrived in New York in 1660 6
  • Isaac DuBois, who landed in New York in 1660 6
  • Lewis Dubois, who landed in New York in 1660 6
  • Louis DuBois, who arrived in New York in 1660 6
  • Family DuBois, who landed in New York in 1660 6
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Dubois Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Abraham DuBois, aged 38, settled with wife and family in England and/or America in 1709
  • Cualtherus DuBois, who landed in New York, NY in 1715 6
  • Gualtherus DuBois, who arrived in New York in 1715 6
  • Jacques DuBois, who arrived in Louisiana in 1718-1724 6
  • Louis Pierre Dubois, who landed in Louisiana in 1718-1724 6
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Dubois Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Vincent Dubois, who arrived in Louisiana in 1805-1809 6
  • Joseph Dubois, who landed in New York in 1819 6
  • H. Dubois, aged 40, who settled in Baltimore in 1820
  • Pedro Dubois, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1822 6
  • Ernest Alexis Dubois, who landed in New York in 1828 6
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Dubois migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dubois Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Madeleine Dubois, born in 1640 is the daughter of Isaac and of Anne Richer of St-Sauveur, diocese of La Rochelle
  • Mr. Pierre Dubois, French settler travelling to Canada for work arriving on 26th February 1644 7
  • Jean Dubois, who arrived in Canada in 1648
  • Pierre Dubois, son of Jean and Opportune, who married Françoise Meunier, daughter of Jacques and Françoise, in Quebec on 30th September 1658 8
  • Dorothée Dubois married in Champlain, Quebec in 1661
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Dubois Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • François Dubois, son of Jean and Catherine, who married Marguerite Charles, daughter of Étienne and Madeleine, in Boucherville, Quebec on 18th January 1700 8
  • Jean-Baptiste Dubois, son of Pierre-René and Anne, who married Marguerite André, daughter of Michel and Françoise, in Lachine, Quebec on 25th June 1704 8
  • Clément Dubois, son of Jacques and Catherine, who married Marie-Anne Jouin, daughter of Pierre and Marie-Jeanne, in Beaumont, Quebec on 1st February 1706 8
  • François Dubois, son of François and Anne, who married Anne Lambert, daughter of Aubin and Élisabeth, in Saint-Nicolas, Quebec on 20th April 1711 8
  • François Dubois, son of François and Cunégonde, who married Angélique Cadoret, daughter of Georges and Barbe, in Lévis, Quebec on 27th July 1723 8
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Dubois Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Jean Dubois, laborer, residing at La Rochelle, Quebec was married to Anne Normand and had 5 daughters and 1 son

Contemporary Notables of the name Dubois (post 1700) +

  • Brian Andrew DuBois (1967-2023), American Major League Baseball pitcher from Joliet, Illinois who played for the Detroit Tigers (1989-1990)
  • William Edward Burghardt Dubois (1868-1963), American writer
  • Brendan DuBois, American mystery fiction and suspense writer, two-time Shamus Award for Best Short Story of the Year winner
  • Michel Y Dubois M.D., Director of Research and Education, and Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology at the NYU School of Medicine
  • James Taylor DuBois (1851-1920), American diplomat and journalist, US Ambassador to Colombia (1911-1913)
  • Mary Constance DuBois (1879-1959), American author
  • Fred Thomas Dubois (1851-1930), American Republican politician, Senator from Idaho (1891-1897 and 1901-1907)
  • Charles H. Dubois, American fighter pilot and flying ace in the U.S. Army Air Forces, during World War II, credited with 5 aerial victories
  • Edward Church Dubois (1848-1914), American politician, Justice of Rhode Island State Supreme Court, 1899 9
  • Coert Dubois, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Dutchess County, 1820-21 9
  • ... (Another 34 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


Suggested Readings for the name Dubois +

  • DuBose (also Du Bois) Genealogy by Dorothy Kelly MacDowell.

  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
  4. "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
  5. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  6. 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)
  7. Debien, Gabriel. Liste Des Engagés Pour Le Canada Au XVIIe Siècle. Vol. 6, Laval University, 1952. (Retreived 24th May 2018). Retrieved from https://lebloguedeguyperron.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/130-liste-des-contrats-dengagement-pour-la-nouvelle-france-releves-a-la-rochelle-entre-1634-et-1679/
  8. Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
  9. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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