Show ContentsJourdon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The history of the Jourdon family goes back to the Medieval landscape of northwestern France, to a region known as Brittany. It is derived from the family living in Brittany.

Early Origins of the Jourdon family

The surname Jourdon was first found in Brittany, where the family held a family seat since ancient times.

Early History of the Jourdon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Jourdon research. Another 294 words (21 lines of text) covering the years 1426, 1427, 1459, 1562, 1569, 1690, 1696, 1707, 1743, 1747, 1749, 1754, 1760, 1762, 1771, 1776, 1789, 1794, 1814, 1821, 1825, 1833, 1843, 1893 and 1897 are included under the topic Early Jourdon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Jourdon Spelling Variations

Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Jourdon, including Jourdan, Jordan, Jourdain, Jordain, Jourdaine, Jordaine, Jourde, Jorde, Jourdaneau, Jordaneau, Jourdanot, Jordanot, Jourdeneau, Jordeneau, Jourdenot, Jordenot, Jourdanet, Jordanet, Jourdenet, Jordenet, Jourdaney, Jordaney, Jourdeney, Jordeney, Jourdin, Jordin, Jourdon, Jordon, Jourdeau, Jordeau, Jourda, Denon, Denoncourt, Denonfoux, Denonville, Denet, Denot, Deneau, Danon, Danot and many more.

Early Notables of the Jourdon family

Notable amongst this name at this time was Dominique Vivant Denon (1747-1825), an engraver, a diplomat, the director general of the Napoleon Museum, a knight of the Empire and a baron...
Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Jourdon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Jourdon migration to the United States +

French settlers came early to North American, following in the wake of the explorers, and creating New France. Quebec City, founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain is said to have been the first American site founded as a permanent settlement, rather than as just a commercial outpost. But emigration was slow, in 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 French people in Quebec, and by 1663, when the region was officially made The Royal Colony of New France, by Louis XIV, there still only around 500 settlers. Over 2,000 would arrive 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 immigrants, both noble and commoner from France. By 1675, there were around 7000 French in the colony, and by that 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. Despite the loss of the Colony to England, the French people flourished in Lower Canada. Among settlers to North America of the Jourdon surname were

Jourdon Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Marie Jourdon, who arrived in Jamestown, Va in 1700 1
  • Symon Jourdon, who arrived in Jamestown, Va in 1700 1
Jourdon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Prudent Jourdon, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1859 1


  1. 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)


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