Show ContentsDesjean History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Desjean family

The surname Desjean was first found in Languedoc, where the family held a family seat since ancient times.

Early History of the Desjean family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Desjean research. Another 337 words (24 lines of text) covering the years 1202, 1234, 1341, 1351, 1364, 1400, 1440, 1540, 1551, 1607, 1645, 1667, 1669, 1707, 1723 and 1800 are included under the topic Early Desjean History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Desjean 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 Desjean, including Saint Jean, Jean, Geon, Jeans, Jeane, Geans, Gen, Le Jean, Des Jeans, De La Geon, Saint-Jon, Saint-Geans and many more.

Early Notables of the Desjean family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

  • Bernard Desjean, Baron de Pointis (1645-1707), a French admiral and privateer


United States Desjean 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 Desjean 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 Desjean were

Desjean Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Pierre Desjean, who landed in Louisiana in 1718-1724 1


  1. 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)


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