Show ContentsLe gros History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Le gros family

The surname Le gros was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where this distinguished family was anciently seated at Gros, a village and seigneurie in the department of Eure in the canton of Amfreville. The first on record was about 1066 when Odon leGros was accused of the murder of Gilbert, Count of Brionne, although another historian ascribes the murder to an entirely different person.

Early History of the Le gros family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Le gros research. Another 107 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1531, 1629, 1666, 1714, 1719 and 1746 are included under the topic Early Le gros History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Le gros Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Legros, LeGros, Legross, Legrow, Grosville and others.

Early Notables of the Le gros family

Notable amongst the family in this period was

  • Pierre Le Gros (1666-1719), a French sculptor, active almost exclusively in Rome

Le gros World Ranking

In the United States, the name Le gros is the 16,104th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in Quebec, Canada, the name Le gros is ranked the 967th most popular surname. 2 And in France, the name Le gros is the 218th popular surname with an estimated 16,232 people with that name. 3


United States Le gros migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Le gros Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Antoine Legros, aged 20, who landed in Louisiana in 1720 4
Le gros Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Francis Charles LeGros, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1868
Le gros Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • John Augustus LeGros, who arrived in Alabama in 1926 4

Canada Le gros migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Le gros Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Joseph Legros, who arrived in Quebec in 1690 from Normandy
Le gros Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Jean-Baptiste Legros, son of Antoine and Jacques, who married Marie Buet, daughter of Alexis and Françoise, in Lachine, Quebec on 24th November 1700 5
  • Elie Legros, who settled in Quebec in 1738 from Guyenne
  • Élie Legros, son of Élie and Madeleine, who married Françoise Pépin, daughter of Robert and Élisabeth, in Montreal, Quebec on 7th January 1738 5
  • Jacques Legros, son of Nicolas and Marie-Charlotte, who married Marie-Josephte Gautier, daughter of Joseph and Marie-Rose, in Bout-de-l'île, Quebec on 8th January 1747 5
  • Louis Legros, son of Jean-Baptiste and Marie, who married Angélique Langevin, daughter of Louis and Madeleine, in Lachine, Quebec on 6th April 1750 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Le gros migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Le gros Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Victor LeGros, (b. 1850), aged 23, British shoemaker from Guernsey travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Surat" going to Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand in 1873, the ship sunk at the Catlins River all the passengers were transported to Dunedin via various rescure vessels 6
  • Mrs. Marie LeGros, (b. 1850), aged 23, British settler from Guernsey travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Surat" going to Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand in 1873, the ship sunk at the Catlins River all the passengers were transported to Dunedin via various rescure vessels 6

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

  • James LeGros (b. 1962), American movie and Television actor
  • Maximin Legros, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 7
  • Joseph Legros (1739-1793), French singer and composer
  • Alphonse Legros (1837-1911), French etcher, painter, and sculptor

USS Arizona
  • Mr. Joseph McNeil Legros, American Seaman First Class from Louisiana, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 8


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. "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
  3. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  4. 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)
  5. Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 2, Institut Drouin, 1958.
  6. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  7. Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, April 8) Maximin Legros. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
  8. Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html


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