Cloetier is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest in 1066. It is a name for a person employed making or selling nails, particularly those used for horse shoes. The surname is derived from the Old French word clou, which in turn derives from the Latin word clavus, which both mean nail.
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Early Origins of the Cloetier family
The surname Cloetier was first found in Normandy where they held a family seat.
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Early History of the Cloetier family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cloetier research. Another 93 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1719 is included under the topic Early Cloetier History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Cloetier Spelling Variations
Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Cloutier, Clouthier, Clouther, Clothier, Clouter, Cluthier, Cloethier, Cloetier and many more.
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Early Notables of the Cloetier family
More information is included under the topic Early Cloetier Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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Migration of the Cloetier family
Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Cloetier name or one of its variants: Zacharie Cloutier II settled in Quebec in about 1630 and may have been the first immigrant of the name from Normandy, his son Rene married Barbe Aymard in 1672.
England
