Bellenget History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

Normandy is the region of ancient France from which the name Bellenget was derived. It comes from when the family lived at Anger in Normandy. The prefix of the name, "bel", means beautiful and it is believed that it was originally describing the place that it originates from as beautiful.

Early Origins of the Bellenget family

The surname Bellenget was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

The family branched into different regions of France including Poitou, and the lands of Hainière in Flanders (Belguim) where they adapted the spelling of their name to Boulengier and appear as a notable family in that region. Additionally, they held the estates of Pistor in Lorraine, and Montigny in Hainaut. By the 16th century, the family branched again and acquired estates at Remfort in Anjou, Thorigny in Maine and Brie. Many members of the Thorigny family contributed greatly during the conflicts of the times and are recorded as esteemed individuals. 1

François Belanger, born in 1612, son of François and Françoise (née Horlays), travelled from Saint-Pierre de Seez to Quebec in 1636. He married Marie Guyon on 12th July 1637 and together they had thirteen children, five of which were sons that carried on the family name of Belanger. 2

Early History of the Bellenget family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bellenget research. Another 69 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1606, 1660, 1786, 1811, 1845 and 1850 are included under the topic Early Bellenget History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bellenget 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 Bellenget, including Belanger, Belangée, Bellanger, Belenger, Baranger, Barranger, Barringer, Bellenger, Bellinguier, Beranger, Beringer, Beringier, Beringuier, Bezanger, Boulanger, Belanget, Bellanget, Belenget, Bellenget, Bellinger and many more.

Early Notables of the Bellenget family

Notable amongst the family in this period was Lord Bellanger of Thorigny; and Jean Boulanger (1606-1660), a French artist active in Italy during the Baroque period, probably best known for his frescoes at the Ducal palace of Sassuolo.Mme. Marie Julie Boulanger, (née Halligner), born 1786, died 1850; was a dramatic singer. She studied in the Conservatoire under...
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bellenget Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bellenget family

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 Bellenget 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 Bellenget were Julian Belanger who settled in New York in 1775; Nicolas Belanger who married Marie De Rainville, daughter of Paul and Rolline Poete in 1659 in Vachon.

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.
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print