Show ContentsDarnau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Of all the French names to come from the Languedoc region of France, Darnau is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived in Arnaud, a village and seigneury in Languedoc, in the south of France. Habitation surnames are names derived from already existing place-names.

Early Origins of the Darnau family

The surname Darnau was first found in Languedoc where they held a family seat in the village and seigneur of Arnaud in the department of Haute Garonne, canton of St.Martory, arrondisement of Saint-Guadens.

Early History of the Darnau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Darnau research. Another 150 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1560, 1572, 1589, 1591, 1593, 1597, 1612, 1616, 1618, 1619, 1650, 1661, 1671, 1674, 1682, 1692, 1694, 1698, 1699, 1744, 1757 and 1778 are included under the topic Early Darnau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Darnau Spelling Variations

Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Darnau, including Ardnaud, D'Arnaud, Denaurd, Darnaud, Danaud, Arnauld, Darnauld, D'Arnauld, d'Arnaud, d'Arnaud, Saint-Arnaud, St-Arnaud, Arnault, Darnault, D'Arnault, Arnaude, Arnoult, Darnoult, D'Arnoult, Arnoux, Darnoux, D'Arnoux, Arnould, Arneault, D'Arnould, Darnould, Darnaude, Arnaux, Arnau, D'Arnau, Darnau, Darnaux and many more.

Early Notables of the Darnau family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Henri Arnauld (1597-1692), a French Catholic bishop, he was offered the Bishopric of Périgueux, but accepted the see of Angers (1650); Robert Arnauld d’Andilly (1589-1674), a French conseiller d’État, specialising in financial questions, in the...
Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Darnau Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Darnau 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 Darnau 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 Darnau were Andre Arnaud settled in New York State in 1683; Isaac Arnaud and his wife settled in Virginia in 1700; J.D. and L.Arnaud settled in New Orleans in 1823.



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