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Cormier History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Cormier History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
England

The name Cormier is derived from the Old French word "corme", which referred to the fruit of the "sorb" or "service" tree. The surname most likely evolved from a nickname originally used for someone who lived near such a tree, or who sold its fruit at the market. 1

Early Origins of the Cormier family

The surname Cormier was first found in Brittany in de Chambray, where they held a family seat.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the family elected to follow the course of Protestantism against the established religion and were classified as Huguenots and followed the exodus from France from about the year 1681 through to 1701 to England and Southern Ireland. The name is listed amongst the Huguenots entering Southern Ireland in the Cork area.

From about 1850, the Cormiers migrated to North America and became one of the many Acadians who settled in the Magdalen Islands and later at St.Georges or Stephenville Crossing in Newfoundland. Under the adapted spelling of Cormey, they settled in the Codroy Valley District in Newfoundland, and an alternate spelling included Cormie. Meanwhile, many junior branches of the family flourished in England, Ireland, Newfoundland, and the Maritimes, in Canada, with various spellings.

Early History of the Cormier family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cormier research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1079, 1480, 1584, 1601, 1606, 1609, 1642, 1646, 1664, 1684, 1695 and 1708 are included under the topic Early Cormier History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cormier Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Cormier, including Cormier, Cormiere, Cormie, Cormey, De Cormie, De Cormey, De Cormier and many more.

Early Notables of the Cormier family

Notable amongst this name at this time was Pierre Corneille (1606-1684), a French tragedian, often called “the founder of French tragedy"; Michel Corneille the Elder (c. 1601-1664)...
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cormier Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cormier World Ranking

In the United States, the name Cormier is the 1,486^th most popular surname with an estimated 19,896 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Cormier is ranked the 119^th most popular surname with an estimated 25,595 people with that name. 3 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Cormier is the 190^th popular surname. 4 Newfoundland, Canada ranks Cormier as 530^th with 87 people. 5 France ranks Cormier as 881^st with 5,816 people. 6

Cormier migration to the United States +

Immigration to New France was slow; therefore, 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. 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. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Cormier 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 Cormier were

Cormier Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jean Cormier, who arrived in South Carolina in 1755 7
Alexandre Cyr Cormier, who arrived in South Carolina in 1755 7
Pierre Cormier, who landed in South Carolina in 1755 7
Joseph Cormier, who arrived in South Carolina in 1755 7
Joseph Cormier, who arrived in South Carolina in 1756 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cormier Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Ambroise Francoise Cormier, who arrived in New York in 1819 7
Ambrose, Cormier Jr., who landed in New York in 1822 7
Catharine Cormier, who arrived in New York in 1822 7
Ambroise, Cormier Jr., who landed in New York in 1822 7

Cormier migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cormier Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Robert Cormier (1602-1712), born in Poitou, an indentured ship's carpenter who arrived in Acadia in 1644
Mr. Robert Cormier, French settler travelling to Canada for work arriving on 8th January 1644 8
Mr. Thomas Cormier, French settler travelling to Canada for work arriving on 8th January 1644 8
Thomas Cormier, son of Robert and Marie, who married Madeleine Girouard, daughter of François and Jeanne, in Port-Royal, Quebec in 1669 9

Cormier Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Pierre Cormier, son of Thomas and Madeleine, who married Catherine Leblanc, daughter of Jacques and Catherine, in Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia in 1703 9
Pierre Cormier, son of François and Marguerite, who married Marie-Anne Sire, daughter of Jean and Françoise, in Beaubassin, Quebec on 18th November 1718 9
Pierre Cormier, son of Pierre and Catherine, who married Cécile Thibodeau, daughter of Jean and Marguerite, in Beaubassin, Quebec on 17th July 1730 9
François Cormier, son of Pierre and Cécile, who married Anastasie Blanson, daughter of Paul and Marie, in Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Quebec on 3rd August 1761 9
Jean Cormier, son of Pierre and Cécile, who married Madeleine Landry, daughter of Alexis and Marguerite, in Kamouraska, Quebec on 5th July 1762 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Cormier (post 1700) +

Robert Cormier (1989-2022), Canadian actor and producer, known for Firecrackers (2018), Slasher (2016) and American Gods (2017)
Robert De Cormier (1922-2017), American musical conductor, arranger, and director, known for his work with Harry Belafonte and Peter, Paul, and Mary, and Milt Okun
Kenneth Cormier (1933-2013), American businessman, founder of Funtown Splashtown USA
Robert Edmund Cormier (1925-2000), American author, columnist, and newspaper reporter
Lance Robert Cormier (b. 1980), American Major League Baseball player
Richard L. Cormier, American fighter pilot and flying ace in the U.S. Navy, during World War II, credited with 9 aerial victories
Claude Cormier (1960-2023), RCA, was a Canadian landscape architect from Quebec
Claude Cormier RCA (1960-2023), Canadian landscape architect, founder of Claude Cormier + associes
Rhéal Paul Cormier (1967-2021), Canadian-born, Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher, inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012
Patrice Victor Cormier (b. 1990), Canadian NHL ice hockey forward
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Dionne, N.-E., Origine Des Familles Canadiennes-Français. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Debien, Gabriel. Liste Des Engagés Pour Le Canada Au XVIIe Siècle. Vol. 6, Laval University, 1952. (Retreived 24th May 2018). Retrieved from https://lebloguedeguyperron.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/130-liste-des-contrats-dengagement-pour-la-nouvelle-france-releves-a-la-rochelle-entre-1634-et-1679/
Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.