Guerry History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
England

The French name Guerry has a history dating as far back as the 13th century. This history is intrinsically entwined with that region known as Normandy, for it was derived from when the Guerry family lived in Normandy, at Gueron. 1

Guérin was also originally a name given to a person that was born under the astrological sign of Aries, so it is assumed by some sources that the name Guerin stemmed form this nickname. 2

Early Origins of the Guerry family

The surname Guerry was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where they held a family seat at Gueron and were the seigneurie of that area, in the department of Calvados in the arrondissement of Bayou. In 1086 Turstin de Giron or Girounde was an under-tenant of Odo, Bishop of Bayou. Later, in 1133, Gueron is described as a bravassoria of the Bishop of Bayou. They also branched to Grée and Landelle in Brittany. This distinguished family were Grand Masters of the Order of St.Jean of Jerusalem in 1231.

Some scholars believe the name finds its early roots with the Guerins of Gauthier and Saint Martin. His posterity included the name Warren in England, Guaragno and Guarini in Italy, and of course Guerin in France 1.

"About 1050, Robert surnamed Guernon, Baron of Montfiquet, witnessed a charter of Duke William. He had issue, 1. William de Montfitchet, who died when the barony descended on the son of his brother: 2. Robert Guernon, or Gernon, who held a great barony in Essex in 1086. From his eldest son, William de Montfitchet, descended the Barons Montfichet; the younger branches retained the name of Guernon. Alured Gernon, the brother of William de Montfichet, had estates in Essex and Middlesex in 1130. " 3

Some ancient findings of the name include, the Guerins of Agon, ennobled in 1653, the Guerins of Chermont, ennobled in 1657, the Guerins of Grasserie who were councilors in parliament, cited in 1452, and the Guerins of Houssaye, three of which were knights of Saint Louis. 1

Claude Guerin, born in 1668, son of Michel and Jeanne (née Veron), was a soldier for M. Noyan. He married Jeanne Cusson at Montreal, Quebec on 19th November 1696. 4

Early History of the Guerry family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Guerry research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1606, 1611, 1663, 1678, 1679, 1681, 1688, 1698, 1721, 1748, 1749, 1758, 1774, 1799, 1805, 1810, 1833, 1839, 1848 and 1874 are included under the topic Early Guerry History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Guerry Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Guerry, including Guerrin, Guerren, Guerin, Guerinne, Guerrein, Guereon, Gueron, Gerin, Garin, Le Guerin, Guerenne, Le Guerinne, De Guerin, De Guerrin, Du Guerin and many more.

Early Notables of the Guerry family

Notable amongst the family in this period was Gilles Guérin (1611-1678), French sculptor; Louis Laguerre (1663-1721), a French decorative painter who mainly worked in England; Pierre Guérin de Tencin (1679-1758), French ecclesiastic; Claudine Guérin de Tencin (1681-1749), French salonist and...
Another 40 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Guerry Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Guerry Ranking

In France, the name Guerry is the 2,154^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,955 people with that name. 5

Guerry migration to the United States +

By 1643 there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Since immigration was slow, early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. 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. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Guerry has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Guerry were

Guerry Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Mary Guerry, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1745 6

Guerry migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Guerry Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Mr. Pierre Guerry, (b. 1611), aged 32, French settler travelling to Canada for work arriving on 7th April 1643 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Guerry (post 1700) +

The Right Reverend William Alexander Guerry (1861-1928), American clergyman, 8th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina (1908-1928)
Michel Guerry (b. 1932), French politician, Member of the Senate of France
André-Michel Guerry (1802-1866), French lawyer and amateur statistician, founder of moral statistics

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.
Dionne, N.-E., Origine Des Familles Canadiennes-Français. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. Print.
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
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/
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)
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/