Show ContentsDemar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Demar surname is a habitational name derived from any of several places named with the Old French words "mareis" or "maresc", meaning "marsh".

Early Origins of the Demar family

The surname Demar was first found in Cambray, Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where ancestors of the family belonged to the house of Bousis. According to Arthurian legend, Sir Hector de Maris (or Ector de Maris), was a Knight of the Round Table, younger half-brother of Lancelot and the natural son of King Ban of Benwick and the Lady de Maris.

René Desmarais, son of Jean and Jeanne (née Brassard), travelled from Poitou, France to the New World in the 17th century. He married Jeanne Blondeau at Trois-Rivières, Quebec on 16th November 1671. 1

Early History of the Demar family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Demar research. Another 297 words (21 lines of text) covering the years 1096, 1108, 1113, 1360, 1429, 1463, 1496, 1500, 1518, 1519, 1526, 1544, 1567, 1595, 1604, 1610, 1619, 1647, 1648, 1650, 1656, 1661, 1662, 1676, 1679, 1682, 1686, 1696, 1709, 1714, 1721, 1728 and 1752 are included under the topic Early Demar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Demar Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Desmarais, Demarais, Des Marais, Desmarets, Desmarés, Desmareys, Desmaray, Desmaraie, Desmarest, Desmaret, Desmarets, Démarais, Démarets, Démarey, Démareys, Démarés, Démarey, Démaré, Démarés, Démarée, Démarées, Démaraie, Démaray, Maret, Marest, Marais, Mareys, Marets, Marest, Mares, Marays, Marrey, Mareys, Marées, Des Marest, Des Maret, Des Marets, Des Marez, De Marest, Du Marest, Du Marais, Du Marrey, Du Mareys, Du Mares, Du Marays, Du Mareys, Du Marées and many more.

Early Notables of the Demar family

Notable amongst the family in this period was Baldwin I, Lord of Marets in the 11th century, as well as Hugues Maret, the first Priest at the Benedictine Abbey of Valbenoite, in 1108. Jean Desmarets (1595-1676), Sieur de (Lord of) Saint-Sorlin was the author of many volumes of poetry and critical works, as well as the first chancellor and co-founder of the Académie Française; Nicolas Desmarets, known as the Marquis de Maillebois (1648-1721)...
Another 72 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Demar Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Demar Ranking

In the United States, the name Demar is the 18,743rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Demar family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Charles Desmarais, 38; who arrived in Canada in 1643; Pierre Desmarais, who was on record in Montreal in 1660; David DesMarest, who settled in New York in 1663 with his wife, Marie Sohier and four children, Madame DesMarest, who arrived in New York in 1700.


Contemporary Notables of the name Demar (post 1700) +

  • Demar Dotson (b. 1985), former American football offensive tackle
  • Demar Dahl, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Senator from Nevada, 1992 3


  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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