Gagner History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The Gagner surname is thought to come from the Old French word "gagner", which meant to "till" or "cultivate" the land. As such, the name Gagner was likely originally an occupational name for a farmer or cultivator. The more popular spelling Gagné or Gagne literally translates from French as "earn" or "win."

Gannes is a commune in the Oise department in northern France and today Gagny is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It was originally part of the department of Seine-et-Oise. 1

Early Origins of the Gagner family

The surname Gagner was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France where the family held a family seat from ancient times.

This family were well established throughout the many provinces of France and several members were rewarded for their work and interest in the matters of their communities with lands, titles and letters patent elevating them to nobility. Distinctive positions held by members of this family include, Counselor and President of Parliament in 1645, 1674, 1675 and 1715, Captain of the Guards and Priest of Châtillon and of Livry. Another branch of this noble family were the Barons of Pouilly and of this branch, Jean-Baptiste became the President at the Financial Chamber in 1685.

Brothers, Pierre Gagne, born in 1610, and Louis, born in 1612, sons of Louis and Marie (née Launay), settled in Canada in 1643. Pierre married in France in 1639 to Marguerite Rouzée, daughter of Jehan and Catherine, and they had one son, Jacques. Pierre died of a fever and was buried in Quebec on 1st May 1656.

Louis Gagne married Marie Michel, daughter of Pierre and Louise, in France in 1638. Louis and Marie settled together in Quebec until his death in 1662. 2

Early History of the Gagner family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gagner research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1516, 1576, 1579, 1611, 1670, 1685, 1703 and 1740 are included under the topic Early Gagner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gagner Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gagne, Gagnes, Gane, Gaine, Gaigne, Geigne, Geygne, Gaygne, De Gagne, De Gagnes, DesGagne, Des Gagne, Desgagne, desGagne, Gagny, Gagnay, Gagnais, Gagney, Gagneais, Gagnet, Gagnau, Gaigne, Gaignet, Gaigney, Gaigny and many more.

Early Notables of the Gagner family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Jean-Baptiste Gagne, President of the Financial Chamber in 1685.John Gagnier (1670?-1740), was an English Orientalist, born in Paris about 1670, and educated at the College of Navarre. "After taking orders he...
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gagner Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gagner Ranking

In the United States, the name Gagner is the 17,344^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Gagner migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gagner Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Martin Gagner, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1732 4

Gagner Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

F Gagner, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Gagner (post 1700) +

Lee Gagner, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Arizona State Senate 9th District, 2002 5
Lee Gagner (b. 1940), American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Idaho, 2004 5
David "Dave" Gagner (b. 1964), retired NHL ice hockey player
Sam Gagner (b. 1989), Canadian NHL ice hockey player; son of Dave Gagner

The Gagner Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Recalcitrantem Cogo
Motto Translation: Stron force

Citations +

Dionne, N.-E., Les Canadiens-Francais Origine Des Familles. Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 1969. Print
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html