Gagnepain History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The long and noble heritage behind the name of Gagnepain first began in medieval France. While the patronymic and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the name of the father and mother respectively, are the most common form of a hereditary surname in France, occupational surnames also emerged during the late Middle Ages. Many people, such as the Gagnepain family, adopted the name of their occupation as their surname. However, an occupational name did not become a hereditary surname until the office or type of employment became hereditary. The surname Gagnepain was an occupational name for a farmer or cultivator. Interestingly, the name Gagnepain was derived from the Old French word "gagneau," which means to "till" or "cultivate."

Early Origins of the Gagnepain family

The surname Gagnepain was first found in Bourgogne in the Franche-Comté where this family held a family seat from ancient times in the department of de Saône-et-Loire in the arrondisement of Charolles.

A substantial branch of this name also settled in Perche, just south of Normandy. Of this family, Mathurin, Jean and Pierre, sons of Pierre and Renée (née Roger), were all pioneers to New France when they migrated to Quebec in Canada in the 17th century. 1

Mathurin, born in 1606, married Françoise Goudeau on 30th September 1647. Together they had 15 children. He was buried at Château-Richer in September 1696. Jean, born in 1610, married Marguerite Cochon on 29th July 1640. He was buried at Château-Richer on 2nd April 1670. Pierre, born in 1612, married Vincente Obermare on 14th September 1642. He was buried at Château-Richer on 17th April 1699. 2

Early History of the Gagnepain family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gagnepain research. Another 45 words (3 lines of text) covering the year 1600 is included under the topic Early Gagnepain History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gagnepain Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gagnon, Gagnont, Gagnent, Gagnen, Gagnanc and many more.

Early Notables of the Gagnepain family

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

Gagnepain Ranking

In France, the name Gagnepain is the 3,988^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Gagnepain family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Louis Gagnon settled with his wife, Thècle, in Quebec in 1781; François Gagnon settled in Quebec in 1748; Louis Gagnon settled in Quebec in 1778.

Contemporary Notables of the name Gagnepain (post 1700) +

Wallace Gagnepain, American Democratic Party politician, Mayor of Perryville, Missouri, 1967 4

Citations +

Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html