Show ContentsBoucherd History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Boucherd was formed many centuries ago in France during the Dark Ages. It was a Norman name typically given to a the Norman given name Bucchard.

Early Origins of the Boucherd family

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

During the Middle Ages the diverse branches of the family distinguished themselves through their remarkable accomplishments and received grants of lands, titles and letters patent confirming their nobility and that of future generations. Many members appeared in the records of 1209. In recognition of his dedicated and valuable services in his community in which he lived, Pierre Bouchard was granted the title of Lord of Cornefou in 1301.

Many other members were actively involved in the social and public affairs of their region and served their country and fellowman in leading positions: as sénéchal of Angoumois and Bishop of Périgueux in the 1500's and as a Governor of Périgord in the 16th century. And because of their fame several French provinces are proud to have been the ancestral seat for such a family.

Claude Bouchard, born in 1626, son of Claude and Marie (née Fremon), was a doctor that travelled from Picardie, France to Quebec in the 17th century. He married Marguerite Benard on 20th November 1651 and together they had two sons, Jean and Paul-Claude. 1

Early History of the Boucherd family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Boucherd research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1599, 1619, 1622, 1635, 1645, 1646, 1653, 1662, 1667, 1676, 1686, 1702, 1720, 1730 and 1794 are included under the topic Early Boucherd History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Boucherd Spelling Variations

Throughout the course of history most surnames have undergone changes for many reasons. During the early development of the French language, a son and father may not have chosen to spell their name the same way. Many are simple spelling changes by a person who gave his name, phonetically, to a scribe, priest, or recorder. Many names held prefixes or suffixes which became optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, we have many spelling variations of this name, Boucherd some of which are Bouchard, Bouchar, Boucharde, Bouchart, Boucharte, Bouchare, Bouchars, Boucharre, Buchard, Buchar, Bucharde, Buchart, Bucharte, Buchare, Buchars, Boucchard, Boucchar, Bouccharde, Boucchart, Bouccharte, Boucchare, Boucchars, Boucharse, Boucherd, Boucherde, Boucherte and many more.

Early Notables of the Boucherd family

Notable amongst the family in this period was Pierre Bouchard, Lord of Cornefou; and Étienne Bouchard (c. 1622 - 1676), a French surgeon who came to Ville-Marie (Montreal) in 1653 under the sponsorship of the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal.Samuel Bochart (1599-1667) was a French Protestant biblical scholar, a student of Thomas Erpenius and the teacher of Pierre Daniel Huet. Born in Rouen, he was for many years a pastor of a Protestant church at Caen, and also studied in Oxford, where he was tutor to Wentworth Dillon, later Earl of Roscommon. His two-volume Geographia Sacra seu Phaleg et Canaan (Caen 1646)...
Another 109 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Boucherd Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Boucherd family

In the 1700s, land incentives were finally given out by France to 2,000 migrants. Early marriage was encouraged in New France, and youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries, leaving French names scattered across the continent. The search for the Northwest passage continued. Migration from France to New France or Quebec, as it was now more popularly called, continued until 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, Acadia 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. 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 Boucherd were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Boucherd were Mrs. Bouchard settled in Louisiana in 1721; Michel Bouchard from Antille-le-Marois, France, settled in Québec in 1700; Jean-Baptiste Bouchard settled with his brother, Jean, in Qué.



The Boucherd 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: Fais honneur
Motto Translation: Do honor


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


Houseofnames.com on Facebook