Show ContentsReneau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The prestigious French surname Reneau is a proud sign of a rich and dynamic ancestry. Many of the most common French surnames are derived from personal names of Germanic origin. They derive from the language of the Visigoths, who controlled France between the mid-5th and early 8th centuries. The French Reneau surname comes from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements "ragin," meaning "counsel," and "wald," meaning "rule."

Early Origins of the Reneau family

The surname Reneau was first found in Lorraine where they held a family seat.

They also branched to Brittany where they held a family seat at Beauregard, and to Beauvais. The family branched to Champagne and held a family seat at Landes. In Provence they were the Marquis de Aleine. Bernard Renau d'Elissagaray (1652-1719), invented a flat-bottomed boat. He was an engineer of the French Navy. After the French Revolution they were made Barons of the Empire.

Guillaume Renaud, born in 1643, son of Guillaume and Suzanne, travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Marie Delamarre, born in 1650, daughter of David and Anne, on 27th November 1668. They remained together in Quebec until Marie's death on 23rd December 1708. Guillaume passed away on 6th January 1709. [1]

Early History of the Reneau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Reneau research. Another 30 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1527, 1568, 1581, 1591, 1606, 1624, 1662 and 1701 are included under the topic Early Reneau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Reneau Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Renault, Renauld, Renaut, Renau, De Renault, de Renault, De Renaud, de Renauld, Renaud, Des Renaud, des Renaud and many more.

Early Notables of the Reneau family

Notable in the family name was Renaud de Beaune (1527-1606) of Tours, a French Catholic ecclesiastic, who was made Bishop of Mende in 1568, Archbishop of Bourges in 1581, and was made...
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Reneau Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Reneau Ranking

In the United States, the name Reneau is the 9,400th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [2]


United States Reneau migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Reneau Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Jacques Reneau, who arrived in New York in 1659 [3]
  • Andre Reneau, who landed in Rhode Island in 1683 [3]
Reneau Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Stephen Reneau, who landed in New York, NY in 1715 [3]

Contemporary Notables of the name Reneau (post 1700) +

  • Marion Reneau (b. 1977), American professional Bantamweight mixed martial artist
  • Brenda Reneau (1954-2013), American Republican Party politician, Oklahoma Labor Commissioner (1994-2007)
  • Daniel Dugan Reneau Jr. (b. 1940), American academic, President of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, since July 1, 1987
  • Walter I. Reneau, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1907-13 [4]
  • J. H. Reneau Jr., American Democratic Party politician, Member of Tennessee State Senate 10th District, 1947 [4]
  • Brenda Reneau (b. 1955), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Oklahoma, 2004 [4]
  • Germán Enrique Centeno “Quique” Reneau (1971-2015), Honduran football player who played from 1989 to 2006, member of the Honduras National Team (1996-1997)
  • Francis "Frankie" Reneau MBE, Belize pianist and composer
  • Brenda Reneau Wynn, American Republican politician, Oklahoma Commissioner of Labor; Elected 2002 [5]
  • Reneau Z. Peurifoy (b. 1949), American self-help book author and marriage counselor


  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. 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. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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