Gendreau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

From the historical and enchanting region of France emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Gendreau family. Originally, the French people were known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted in France is extremely interesting. Surnames evolved during the Middle Ages when people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Often they adopted names that were derived from nicknames. Gendreau is a nickname type of surname for a person who has inherited his family estates from his father-in-law, deriving its origin from the Old French word "gendre," which meant "son-in-law."

Early Origins of the Gendreau family

The surname Gendreau was first found in Maine where they held a family seat at De Tendron, a seigneurie in the department of Cher in the arrondissement of Sainte-Amand-Mont-Rond. By the 14th century this prestigious family had moved north to Brittany (French: Bretagne). They leant their name to the seigneurie of Gendronnière and La Croix in that same region where they held considerable estates. They also acquired business interests in Holland.

Nicolas Gendron, born in 1634, son of Pierre and Marie (née Renault), travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After settling in Quebec he married Marie-Marthe Hubert, born in 1642, daughter of Toussaint and Catherine (née Champagne), on 19th February 1656. Together they had eight children, six sons and two daughters, and they remained in Quebec together until Nicolas passed away at Sainte-Famille on 16th January 1671. 1

Early History of the Gendreau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gendreau research. More information is included under the topic Early Gendreau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gendreau Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gendron, Gendrot, Gendreau, Le Gendron, Legendron, Le Gendreau and many more.

Early Notables of the Gendreau family

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

Gendreau World Ranking

In the United States, the name Gendreau is the 14,906^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2 However, in Quebec, Canada, the name Gendreau is ranked the 873^rd most popular surname. 3 And in France, the name Gendreau is the 4,762^nd popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 4

Gendreau migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gendreau Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Mr. Pierre Gendreau, French labourer travelling to Canada to work for Jacques Pepin arriving on 30th March 1656 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Gendreau (post 1700) +

Alan Scott Gendreau (b. 1989), American college football player
Captain Elphege Alfred Mailliot Gendreau (1888-1943), Canadian-born, United States Navy officer, eponym of the destroyer escort USS Gendreau (DE-639)

Citations +

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/
"The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Debien, Gabriel. Liste Des Engagés Pour Le Canada Au XVIIe Siècle. Vol. 6, Laval University, 1952. (Retreived 24th May 2018). Retrieved from https://lebloguedeguyperron.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/130-liste-des-contrats-dengagement-pour-la-nouvelle-france-releves-a-la-rochelle-entre-1634-et-1679/