Gaude History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The rich and ancient history of the Gaude family name dates back to the time when France was immersed in the Dark Ages. This name from the Normandy region of France is derived from the Norman-French given name Gaudi, which means ruler.

Early Origins of the Gaude family

The surname Gaude was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where this celebrated family has held a family seat since ancient times.

One of the earliest records of the family concerns Margue Gaudette who is recorded in 1340. Descending from the original line of Soulange, the family expanded, branched and prospered. This ancient family was known in Normandy, Picardy and Champagne as the Godart's, in Bourgogne as the Godard's and popular spellings of Lyonnais, Berry and Bourbonnais were Gaudart and Gaudard. Playing an important role in their community, the Gaudard family were the Lords of Solier, of la Greslerie, of Laverdine and of Genetais and served as the local Judges for the burgs in 1474. Proving their capability in politics, one of the Gaudard's served as the Mayor of Bourges in 1557 and in 1697 a member of the family served as the Treasurer of France for Berry.

The family were fervent in pursuit of their faith and as such a member of the family became the Archdeacon of Bourbon in 1698 and he held his doctorate in Theology. Many members of the family served as representatives of the business community in Paris. Claude was a businessman of Paris in 1699 and his son, Louis-François, was an architect and a businessman in that same city. François-Pierre, his son, was a buying agent for the famous East India Company in the 1700's. Maurice, a descendant of François-Pierre, was a Knight of Saint Lazaire, a delegate general holding the Order of the Indes, a member of the Association of the French India Company and a Vice-President of the Red Cross for the French India Company.

Early History of the Gaude family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gaude research. The years 1647, 1700 and 1709 are included under the topic Early Gaude History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gaude Spelling Variations

French surnames were subject to numerous spelling alterations depending on the region and time it was used. The early development of the French language relied heavily on borrowing elements and grammar from other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heavily from the Italian language during the Renaissance. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Gaude is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Gaudet, Gaudette, Gaudait, Gaudais, Gaudey, Godet, Godette, Godait, Godais, Goder, Godee, Goday, Goddet, Goddette, Gauddet and many more.

Early Notables of the Gaude family

Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gaude Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gaude Ranking

In France, the name Gaude is the 6,320^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Gaude family

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec, in 1663 there were only 500, 2,000 migrants arrived during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. Youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Migration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until it fell in 1759. 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. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many distinguished contributions have been made by members of this family name Gaude. It has been prominent in the arts, religion, politics and culture in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Gaude were Eugene Godet who settled in Philadelphia in 1843; Thomas Martin Debois Godet settled in Philadelphia in 1843; A Godey settled in San Francisco in 1852.

Contemporary Notables of the name Gaude (post 1700) +

Laurent Gaudé (b. 1972), contemporary French writer
Joseph Gaudé (1818-1881), French archetier, bowmaker and luthier

Citations +

http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/