Show ContentsCharbonnel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Charbonnel was first seen in France in the area called Gascogne. It was a name for a person with dark hair or a dark complexion. Looking back further, we find the name Charbonnel was originally derived from the Latin word "carbonis," which means charcoal.

Early Origins of the Charbonnel family

The surname Charbonnel was first found in Gascony (French: Gascogne), an area of southwest France bordering Spain, that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution, where the family has held a family seat since very early times.

Early History of the Charbonnel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Charbonnel research. Another 271 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1300 and 1321 are included under the topic Early Charbonnel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Charbonnel Spelling Variations

French surnames were subject to numerous alterations in spelling because of the various cultural groups that inhabited specific regions. Eventually, each region possessed its own local dialect of the French language. The early development of the French language, however, was also influenced by other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heavily from the Italian language during the Renaissance. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Charbonnel is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Carbonnel, Carbonel, Carbonelle, Carbonèle, Charbonnel, Charbonel, Charbonelle, Charbonèle, Carbonell, Carbonnell, Charbonell, Charbonnell, Carbonnèle, Charbonèle, Charbonnèle, Charbonnel, Charbonnelle, Charbonal, Carbonal, Charbonale, Carbonale, Charbonnal, Carbonale, Charbonall, Carbonall, Carbonnale, Carbonalle and many more.

Early Notables of the Charbonnel family

More information is included under the topic Early Charbonnel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Charbonnel Ranking

In France, the name Charbonnel is the 1,455th most popular surname with an estimated 3,984 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Charbonnel family

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Migration was slow. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Charbonnel has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Charbonnel were J. Carbonel, aged 40, who settled in New Orleans in 1823; C. Carbonel settled in San Francisco, California, in 1850; Anthony Carbonel settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1841.


Contemporary Notables of the name Charbonnel (post 1700) +

  • Joseph Claude Marie Charbonnel, Count de Salès, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 2


  1. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  2. Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 12) Joseph Charbonnel. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html


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