Show ContentsCloutriers History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient history of the name Cloutriers dates back to the days of the Medieval period of southern. It was a Norman name given to a person who sold nails, having derived from the French word "clous", which means "nails." 1

Early Origins of the Cloutriers family

The surname Cloutriers was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where they held a family seat in the seigneurie of Pas-de-Calais at De Cléty, a village in the arrondisement of Saint-Omer. The family was a respected member of Norman aristocracy for many centuries from their first reference around the 12th century.

Zacharie Cloutier, born in 1590, arrived at Beauport, Quebec from Perche, France on 8th August 1634, along with his wife, Xaintes (née Dupont), who he married on 18th July 1616, and his five children, Zacharie, Jean, Charles, Anne, and Louise. They eventually moved to Château-Richer and they remained there until his death at the age of 87 on 17th September 1677.

His eldest son, Zacharie, married Madeleine Aymard at Saint-Barthélemy, Quebec on 4th April 1648. 2

Early History of the Cloutriers family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cloutriers research. Another 40 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1590, 1677 and 1789 are included under the topic Early Cloutriers History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cloutriers Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of French surnames; in part, as spelling, and the spelling names was not yet standardized during the early development of the written French language. Later, there was much branching and movement of families, and spellings would change according to region. Variations of the name Cloutriers include Cloutiere, Cloutier, le Cloutier, Clouterie, Cloutour, Cloutrier, Clouteau, Clouter, Clouté, Clutier, Clutiere and many more.

Early Notables of the Cloutriers family

Another 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cloutriers Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cloutriers family

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec, in 1663 there were only 500, 2,000 migrants arrived during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. 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. Migration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until it fell in 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 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many distinguished contributions have been made by members of this family name Cloutriers. It has been prominent in the arts, religion, politics and culture in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Cloutriers were Zacharia Clouter arrived in Barbados in 1663 and may have been from the north, perhaps the maritimes or Quebec; J.B. Cloutier arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1823 and was listed on the New Orleans ship lists..



  1. Dionne, N.-E., Origine Des Familles Canadiennes-Français. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. Print.
  2. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print


Houseofnames.com on Facebook