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Le bel History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Le bel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Scotland
England

The surname Le bel was first used as a surname by the people of ancient French region of Gascogne. It was a name for a person distinguished by great physical beauty. Interestingly, the name Le bel was originally derived from the French words, "la belle," which means, " the beautiful."

Early Origins of the Le bel family

The surname Le bel was first found in Gascony (French: Gascogne), an area of southwest France bordering Spain, that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution, where they held a family seat in the honor of the seigneurie of De Labels, a village in the Basses-Pyrénées in the arrondisement of de Mauléon.

The Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae also lists Le Bel in Normandy in 1189. 1 One of the earliest notables of the family was Jean Le Bel (c. 1290-1370), a Flemish chronicle and soldier. He was one of the first chroniclers to write in French instead of Latin. As a soldier, he joined with Jean, Count de Beaumont on his travels to England and Scotland in 1327.

Guillaume Labelle, son of Jean and Marie (née Loye), was a French farmer that travelled from Saint-Elei, Normandy to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Anne Charbonneau in Montreal on 23rd November 1671. They had eleven children together and five of their sons eventually married and carried on the name Labelle in Canada. 2

Early History of the Le bel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Le bel research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1573, 1650, 1674, 1696, 1703, 1734 and 1768 are included under the topic Early Le bel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Le bel Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of French surnames; in part, as spelling, and the spelling names was not yet standardized during the early development of the written French language. Later, there was much branching and movement of families, and spellings would change according to region. Variations of the name Le bel include Lebel, LeBel, LaBelle, Belle, Bell, Labelle, Label, LaBell, LaBel, LeBelle, LeBaile, LaBaile, Lebaile and many more.

Early Notables of the Le bel family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Alexis-Simon Belle (1674-1734), French painter, member of well known family of painters, and his son the painter Jean Belle (d. 1703.) Dominique Guillaume Lebel (1696-1768) or also Le Bel, was first c...

Le bel World Ranking

In the United States, the name Le bel is the 8,467^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3 However, in Canada, the name Le bel is ranked the 445^th most popular surname with an estimated 10,674 people with that name. 4 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Le bel is the 180^th popular surname. 5 France ranks Le bel as 1,247^th with 4,508 people. 6

Le bel migration to the United States +

Immigration to New France was slow; therefore, 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 Le bel 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 Le bel were

Le bel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Pierre LeBel, who landed in Louisiana in 1719 7

Le bel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Euse Lebel, aged 10, who landed in America, in 1895

Le bel Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Leon Lebel, aged 49, who landed in America from Dreux, France, in 1907
Alfred Lebel, aged 35, who landed in America from Paris, France, in 1908
Alexandrine Lebel, aged 54, who immigrated to America from Paris, France, in 1909
Julia Lebel, aged 3, who immigrated to America from Marboly Minos, France, in 1909
Georg Lebel, aged 27, who immigrated to the United States, in 1921
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Le bel migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Le bel Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Nicolas Lebel who arrived in Quebec from Normandy in 1657
Nicolas Lebel, son of Clément and Françoise, who married Marie Drouin, daughter of Robert and Marie, in Château-Richer, Quebec on 28th November 1662 8
Nicolas Lebel, son of Clément and Françoise, who married Thérèse Mignot, daughter of Jean and Louise, in Château-Richer, Quebec on 2nd April 1665 8
Jean Lebel, son of Nicolas and Thérèse, who married Anne Soucy, daughter of Jean and Jeanne, in Rivière-Ouelle, Quebec on 16th August 1689 8

Le bel Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Joseph Lebel, son of Nicolas and Thérèse, who married Marie-Catherine Boutin, daughter of Antoine and Geneviève, in Rivière-Ouelle, Quebec on 22nd November 1701 8
Nicolas Lebel, son of Nicolas and Thérèse, who married Marie-Madeleine Michaud, daughter of Pierre and Marie, in Rivière-Ouelle, Quebec on 23rd August 1707 8
Nicolas Lebel, son of Jean and Anne, who married Marie-Françoise Migneau, daughter of Jean and Marie-Xainte, in Rivière-Ouelle, Quebec on 7th January 1716 8
Pierre Lebel, who arrived in Quebec from Ile-de-France in 1724
Joseph Lebel, son of Joseph and Marie-Catherine, who married Marie-Anne Duval, daughter of François and Marie-Anne, in Quebec on 9th January 1730 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Le bel Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

Godfroid Lebel, aged 50, who settled in Ottawa, Canada, in 1911
Georgie LeBel, aged 59, who immigrated to Quebec, Canada, in 1913

Contemporary Notables of the name Le bel (post 1700) +

Hardy LeBel Jr. (b. 1967), American video game designer
Toussaint LeBel, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for New Hampshire State House of Representatives from Manchester 13th Ward, 1938 9
Jean-Jacques Lebel (b. 1936), French artist, poet, poetry publisher and political activist
Joseph Achille Le Bel (1847-1930), French chemist, best known for his work in stereochemistry
Antoine Joseph Claude Le Bel, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 10
Louis LeBel CC (1939-2023), Canadian jurist, Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (2000-2014)
Ghislain Lebel (b. 1946), Quebec politician and notary
Denis Lebel PC, MP (b. 1954), Canadian politician, Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party (2015-), Member of the Canadian Parliament for Lac-Saint-Jean (2015-), Mayor of Roberval (2000-2007)
Robert Lebel (1905-1999), Canadian ice hockey administrator and Mayor of Chambly, Quebec
Maurice Lebel (1909-2006), Canadian academic, President of the Royal Society of Canada (1963–1964)
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Le bel family +

Halifax Explosion

Mr. Ludger Adelard Lebel (1898-1917), Canadian Horseman aboard the SS Curaca from Hull, Quebec, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 11

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
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/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"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/
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)
Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 2, Institut Drouin, 1958.
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, April 8) Antoine Le Bel. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance