Courneau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• France

Early Origins of the Courneau family

Early History of the Courneau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Courneau research. Another 55 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1801, 1839, 1877 and 1885 are included under the topic Early Courneau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Courneau 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 Courneau, including Cournoyer, Cournot, Courneau, Cournaud, Cournaut, Cournaux, Cournauld, Cournault, Cournaulx and many more.

Early Notables of the Courneau family

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

Migration of the Courneau family

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 Courneau 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 Courneau were Elizabeth Cournoyer, an Acadian Exile on record in Cayenne, French Guiana in 1764; Augustin Cournoyer, who was on record in Iowa in 1837; Jean Bt. Cournoyer, who was naturalized in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in 1837.