Show ContentsGregoire History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The prestigious French surname Gregoire is a proud sign of a rich and dynamic ancestry. The earliest forms of hereditary surnames in France were the patronymic surnames, which are derived from the father's given name, and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the mother's given name. The patronyms were derived from a variety of given names that were of many different origins. The name Gregoire is derived from the ancient Greek personal name Gregorein, which means "watchful" or "awake."

Early Origins of the Gregoire family

The surname Gregoire was first found in Guyenne where they held a family seat in the village and estates of Gregoire, in the department of Lot-et-Garonne in Tarn, located in the south of France.

By the 14th century the main stem of the family had become seated at Gardies in Languedoc, a branch which would eventually produce the Marquis de St. Sauver. An important branch also settled in Toulouse presenting Counts of the Empire after the revolution. This distinguished family also branched to Picardy. A branch in the Franche-Comté settled in the Seigneurie of Villefreroux, and were elected to the nobility in 1531. Meanwhile, a branch in Lorraine became Seigneurial in 1650. There have been several Saints of this name: St. Gregoire le Thaumaturge L'Illuminateur; St.Gregoire Palamas, as well as St.Gregoire le Grand. Many Popes have been named Gregoire, and have later been beatified.

François Gregoire, born in 1665, son of Theophile and Madeleine (née Clemence), was a French surgeon that settled in Quebec in the 17th century. He married Mathurine Belanger, daughter of François and Marie (née Guyon), at Pointe-aux-Trembles on 26th April 1688. He married again at Sainte-Foy to Marie-Anne Lienard, daughter of Sebastien and Françoise (née Pelletier), on 31st October 1701. [1]

Early History of the Gregoire family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gregoire research. The years 1817, 1822, 1830, 1837, 1841, 1847 and 1849 are included under the topic Early Gregoire History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gregoire Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gregoir, Gregoire, Greguer, Greguere, De Gregoire, Degregoire, De Gregoir, Degregoire and many more.

Early Notables of the Gregoire family

Notable amongst the name was Jacques Mathieu Joseph Gregoir, born at Antwerp Jan. 18, 1817, made his first appearance as a pianist in Dussek's B minor Concerto when only eight years old. After the revolution of 1830 he was sent to Paris to study under Herz, but his health obliged him to return to his native country after a few years. Subsequently he went with his brother to Biberich, where he studied with Rummel until 1837, wnen he returned to Antwerp...
Another 80 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gregoire Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gregoire World Ranking

In the United States, the name Gregoire is the 5,062nd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. [2] However, in Canada, the name Gregoire is ranked the 458th most popular surname with an estimated 10,463 people with that name. [3] And in Quebec, Canada, the name Gregoire is the 176th popular surname. [4] France ranks Gregoire as 240th with 15,117 people. [5]


United States Gregoire migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gregoire Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Basile Gregoire, who arrived in South Carolina in 1756 [6]
Gregoire Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Louis Gregoire, who arrived in America in 1804 [6]
  • D Gregoire, aged 40, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1832 [6]
  • Sen. Gregoire, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 [6]

Canada Gregoire migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gregoire Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Louis Gregoire, who landed in Montreal in 1653
  • Louis Gregoire, who arrived in Montreal in 1662
  • Mathurin Gregoire, who arrived in Quebec in 1669 from Picardy
  • Mathurin Gregoire, son of Valentin and Marguerite, who married Françoise Loiseau, daughter of Nicolas and François, in Quebec on 7th October 1669 [7]
  • Francois Gregoire who arrived in Quebec in 1685 from Languedoc
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Gregoire Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Julien Gregoire, son of Mathurin and Françoise, who married Françoise De Serre, daughter of Antoine and Mathurine, in Contrecoeur, Quebec on 8th August 1710 [7]
  • Jean-François Gregoire, son of François and Mathurin, who married Geneviève Liénard, daughter of Sébastien and Françoise, in Sainte-Foy, Quebec on 12th November 1710 [7]
  • Mathurin Gregoire, son of Mathurin and Françoise, who married Élisabeth Sajolle, daughter of Jean and Marie, in Saint-Ours, Quebec on 25th March 1718 [7]
  • Jean-Baptiste Gregoire, son of Joseph and Marie, who married Marie-Josephte Chapelain, daughter of Joseph-Louis and Anne, in Deschambault-Grondines, Quebec on 29th October 1726 [7]
  • Ignace Gregoire, son of François and Marie-Anne, who married Marie-Louise Bordeleau, daughter of Antoine and Catherine, in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec on 1st March 1734 [7]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Gregoire (post 1700) +

  • Jean-Albert Grégoire (1899-1992), French automotive engineer, pioneer of the front-wheel-drive car
  • Henri Grégoire (1750-1831), French Roman Catholic priest, constitutional Bishop of Blois and a revolutionary leader
  • Joseph-Ernest Grégoire (1886-1980), French Canadian politician
  • Gabriel Grégoire (b. 1953), Canadian former CFL defensive lineman for the Montreal Alouettes (1976-1980)
  • Gilles Grégoire (1926-2006), French Canadian politician, co-founder of the Parti Québécois
  • Christine O'Grady Gregoire (b. 1947), American politician, 22nd Governor of the U.S. state of Washington (2005-2013)
  • Most Reverend Paul Gregoire, Archbishop of Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • Russell Gregoire MacLellan (b. 1940), Canadian politician, 24th Premier of Nova Scotia from 1997 to 1999

Halifax Explosion
  • Mr. Guy L.  Gregoire (1890-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) [8]


  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. Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
  8. Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance


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