Archambault History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The Archambault surname is derived from a personal name, which derives from the Latin "Arcambaldus". According to etymologists, this personal name is in turn derived from the ancient Germanic elements "Ercan", meaning "precious", and "bald", meaning "bold" and "daring". 1

Early Origins of the Archambault family

The surname Archambault was first found in Limousin, situated in the north-western part of the Massif-Central where one can trace the origin of this eminent family settled with lands and seats.

During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance some members of the family distinguished themselves through many contributions to the community and province in which they held a family seat, and some were granted certain privileges, land and a place amongst the French nobility. Through the years, some of the members branched to Orleans and south of Paris. Thus the province of Burgundy has been the seat of the eminent family of the Archambault de Beaunes for several centuries.

There is evidence of the family later branching northwards, under the name of Archambault, as the name can be found today in the Parisian region as well as in the former province of Orléanais, located around the middle of Loire. This was part of the Royal domain since the 10th century, and which was to be annexed to the French crown in the middle of the 15th century. The noble family of Archimbaud also settled in the province of Provence, located in the South of France.

Early History of the Archambault family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Archambault research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1242, 1604 and 1688 are included under the topic Early Archambault History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Archambault 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 Archambault, including Archambault, Archambaut, Archambeault, Archambeau, Archambeaux, Archambau, Archambaux, Archambot, Archambod, Archambode, Archambold, Archambolde, Archambote, Archambolt, Archambolte, Archambauld, Archambaulde, Archambaud, Archambaude, Archambaute, d'Archambault, d'Archambaut, d'Archambeault and many more.

Early Notables of the Archambault family

Notable amongst the family was

Archambault de Beaume. Archambaud VIII of Bourbon (d. 1242) was a ruler of Bourbonnais (present day Auvergne)

Archambault World Ranking

In the United States, the name Archambault is the 7,860^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Archambault is ranked the 569^th most popular surname with an estimated 8,700 people with that name. 3 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Archambault is the 212^nd popular surname. 4 France ranks Archambault as 3,456^th with 2,000 - 2,500 people. 5

Archambault migration to Canada +

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 Archambault 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 Archambault were

André Archambault, son of Laurent and Catherine, who married Cécile Adhémar, daughter of Antoine and Marie, in Montreal, Quebec on 13th November 1702 6
André Archambault, son of André and Cécile, who married Angélique Lorion, daughter of Jean and Marie-Angélique, in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec on 8th February 1740 6
Antoine Archambault, son of Pierre and Marie, who married Marie-Josephte Jetté, daughter of Louis-Charles and Élisabeth, in Contrecoeur, Quebec on 30th June 1739 6
Antoine Archambault, son of Laurent and Antoinette, who married Marie-Josephte Ledoux, daughter of Nicolas and Élisabeth, in Montreal, Quebec on 4th November 1738 6
Antoine Archambault, son of Jacques and Françoise, who married Françoise Loiseau, daughter of Joachim and Agnès, in Boucherville, Quebec on 5th December 1740 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Archambault Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Jacques Archambault (c. 1604-1688) and his wife Françoise Tourault with their six children, left from Dompierre sur Mer in 1645-6 for Québec
Laurens Archambault, who landed in Montreal in 1651
Catherine Marchand Archambault, who arrived in Montreal in 1659
Laurent Archambault, who arrived in Montreal in 1660
Laurent Archambault married Catherine Marchand in Montréal in Québec in 1660

Archambault Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Pierre Archambault married Marie Lacombe at Pointe-aux-Trembles in Québec in 1701
André Archambault married Cécile Adhémar in Montréal in Québec in 1702
Jean Archambault married Cécile Lefebvre in Montréal in Québec in 1708

Contemporary Notables of the name Archambault (post 1700) +

Erica Archambault (b. 1988), American United States Figure Skating Champion junior figure skater in 2003
Timothy "Tim" Archambault (b. 1971), American Native American flutist, architect, and composer
Colonel Lee Joseph "Bru" Archambault (b. 1960), American test pilot and NASA astronaut with 648 hours in space 7
Michel Joseph Archambault (1950-2018), Canadian ice hockey left winger for the Chicago Black Hawks during the 1976–77 NHL season
François-Xavier Archambault (1841-1893), Canadian lawyer and politician in Quebec
Jean Archambault (1780-1831), farmer and politician in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada (1800 to 1808)
Joseph Archambault (1879-1964), Canadian politician and lawyer
Yves Archambault (b. 1952), Canadian professional WHA ice hockey goaltender
Louise Archambault, Canadian Claude Jutra Award winning film director and screenwriter
Gilles Archambault (b. 1933), Canadian Governor General's Award winning novelist from Quebec
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"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
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
NASA Astronauts Homepage. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) Lee Archambault. Retrieved from http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/archambault.html