Show ContentsLebay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Of all the French names to come from Normandy, Lebay is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived in Normandy. Their name, however, indicates that the original bearer lived at or near an abbey. The word occurs in contraction with the article, le, meaning the, and thus appears Labbey.

Early Origins of the Lebay family

The surname Lebay was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where the family has been traced from ancient times.

Early History of the Lebay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lebay research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1526, 1566, 1607, 1610, 1650, 1662, 1667, 1669 and 1674 are included under the topic Early Lebay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lebay 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 Lebay, including Labbey, Labey, Labbé, L'Abbey, Labbie, Labie, L'Abbie, Labbee, Labee, L'Abbé, L'Abbée, Labbay, Labay, Labbai, Labai, Labaie, Labbais, Labadie, Labais, de Labbey, de Labey, de Labbay, de Labay, L'Abbaye, de l'Abbaye, Labaye, Labbaye, de Labbai, de Labai, de Labbais, de Labais, de la Bey, de la Bay and many more.

Early Notables of the Lebay family

Notable amongst the family in this period was Louise Labbe, poet; and Philippe Labbe (1607-1667), a French Jesuit writer on historical, geographical and philological questions. Jean de Labadie (1610-1674) was a French...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lebay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


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

Lebay Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Adrien LeBay, aged 30, who arrived in Louisiana in 1719 [1]


The Lebay 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: Sine labe
Motto Translation: Without wavering


  1. 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)


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