Show ContentsDesprez History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Desprez family

The surname Desprez was first found in Champagne, but one of the earliest records of the name was Pierre Desprès (1288-1361), a French Cardinal during the period of Avignon Papacy. He was son of Raymond II Desprès, seigneur of Montpezat. He was bishop of Riez in 1318 and Archbishop of Aix (1318-1320.)

Early History of the Desprez family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Desprez research. Another 22 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1310, 1440, 1454, 1504, 1521, 1693, 1733, 1742, 1752, 1765, 1783, 1792, 1807, 1832, 1834, 1851, 1862, 1868 and 1888 are included under the topic Early Desprez History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Desprez Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Despres, Desprès, Despradelle, Despradelles, Desprairies, Desprat, Desprats, Desprez, Desprades, Despras, Despréaux, Despret and many more.

Early Notables of the Desprez family

Notable amongst the family during this period was

  • Louis-Jean Desprez was a famous architect in Auxerre in 1742
  • Claude-Aimé Desprez was an actor in 1783
  • Julien-Florian-Félix Desprez was archbishop and cardinal of Toulouse in 1807

Desprez Ranking

In France, the name Desprez is the 1,058th most popular surname with an estimated 5,084 people with that name. [1]


Canada Desprez migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Desprez Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Simon Desprez, who landed in Montreal in 1653
  • Henriette Desprez was married in 1666 in Quebec

Contemporary Notables of the name Desprez (post 1700) +

  • François Alexandre Desprez, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 [2]
  • Brigadier-General Octave Desprez (1880-1941), French Commanding Officer during World War II [3]


  1. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  2. Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 27) François Desprez. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
  3. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 3) Octave Desprez. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Desprez/Octave-Georges-Alexandre/France.html


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