Contents [hide]

Marchant History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Marchant History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Scotland
England

The surname Marchant was an occupational name for a merchant having derived from the Old French, Middle English word "marchant," which in turn came from the Late Latin "mercatans." 1 2

Early Origins of the Marchant family

The surname Marchant was first found in Berkshire, England where Roger Marcand (Marchand) was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1202. A few years later, Roger Marchaunt and Herueus Merchant were recorded in the Assize Rolls for Yorkshire in 1219. In Essex, Ranulph le Marchand was listed in the Feet of Fines for 1240, while in Cambridgeshire, Reginald le Marchant was listed in the Feet of Fines for 1247. In Somerset, Thomas le Markaund was found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1274. 3

"Radulph Mercator held land in Dunfermline [Scotland] a. 1214, and a later Radulph Mercator was a charter witness in Dundee in 1281. Thomas called Marchand was a canon of Brechin in 1298. Morice Merchande was barber of the burgh of Dumbarton in 1456, and in 1495 there is mention of the tenement of Elizabeth Merchand there." 4

Early History of the Marchant family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Marchant research. Another 110 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1298, 1563, 1600, 1650, 1676, 1697, 1739, 1766, 1773, 1781, 1785, 1789, 1791, 1809, 1811 and 1816 are included under the topic Early Marchant History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Marchant Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Merchant, Merchand, Marchand, Mercator and others.

Early Notables of the Marchant family

Notable among the family at this time was

Chesten (Cheston) Marchant (died 1676), generally believed to have been the last monoglot Cornish speaker
Nathaniel Marchant (1739-1816), gem-engraver and medallist, was born in Sussex in 1739. He became a pupil of Edward Burch, R. A., and in 1766 was a member of the Incorporated Society of Artists. He we...

Marchant Ranking

In the United States, the name Marchant is the 5,950^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5 However, in France, the name Marchant is ranked the 6,561^st most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 6

Marchant migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Marchant Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Walter Marchant, who settled in Maine in 1620
William Marchant, who settled in Virginia in 1654
William Marchant, who arrived in Virginia in 1663 7
Thomazin Marchant, who landed in Maryland in 1680 7

Marchant Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Saridene Marchant, aged 32, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1840 7
F Marchant, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 7

Marchant migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Marchant Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Jacques Marchant, aged 18, who landed in Quebec in 1656
Mr. Jacques Marchant, French labourer travelling to Canada to work for François Peron, arriving on 11th April 1656 8
Mr. Thomas Marchant, French settler travelling to Canada to work for Pierre Gaigneur, arriving on 30th April 1658 8
Thomas Marchant, who arrived in Canada in 1658

Marchant Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Richard Marchant, aged 18, who arrived in Montreal in 1841
George Marchant, aged 18, who arrived in Montreal in 1849

Marchant migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Marchant Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

George Marchant, English convict from Kent, who was transported aboard the "Almorah" on April 1817, settling in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. Charles Marchant, (b. 1817), aged 21, English convict who was convicted in Bath, Somerset, England for 15 years for breaking and entering, transported aboard the "Earl Grey" on 27th July 1838, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
William Larington Marchant, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Fairlee" in 1840 11
Eliza Marchant, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Fairlee" in 1840 11
Robert Marchant, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "John" in 1840 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Marchant 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:

Marchant Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Joseph Kettle Marchant, aged 22, a gardener, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bombay" in 1842 13
Ann Emily Marchant, aged 22, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bombay" in 1842 13
Thomas Marchant, aged 44, a farmer, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Prince of Wales" in 1842
H. Marchant, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Asterope" in 1865
Miss Phillis Marchant, (b. 1848), aged 19, British domestic servant travelling from London aboard the ship "Glenmark" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th November 1867 14
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Marchant migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 15

Marchant Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Thomas Marchant, who settled in Jamaica in 1684
Emanuell Marchant, who settled in Barbados in 1685

Contemporary Notables of the name Marchant (post 1700) +

Todd Marchant (b. 1973), American NHL ice hockey player
Kenny Ewell Marchant (b. 1951), American politician, Republican member of US House of Representatives
Henry Marchant (1741-1796), American lawyer and delegate to the Continental Congress (1777 to 1779)
Kenny E. Marchant (b. 1951), American Republican politician, Mayor of Carrollton, Texas, 1984-87; Member of Texas State House of Representatives 99th District, 1987-2004; U.S. Representative from Texas 24th District, 2005- 16
Joel Marchant, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Redding, 1826 16
Henry Marchant (1741-1796), American politician, U.S. District Judge for Rhode Island, 1790-96 16
Eston Marchant, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from South Carolina, 1964 16
Cornelius B. Marchant, American politician, U.S. Collector of Customs, 1870-81 16
Charles H. Marchant, American politician, U.S. Collector of Customs, 1909 16
Bert Marchant, American politician, Mayor of Storm Lake, Iowa; Elected 1937 16
... (Another 16 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Marchant family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Eric Harry Marchant, British Commander Electrical, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and died in the sinking 17

HMS Royal Oak

Vincent Marchant, British Seaman with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he survived the sinking 18

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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/
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Almorah voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1817 with 180 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/almorah/1817
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-grey
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) FAIRLIE/FAIRLEE 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Fairlie.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) JOHN from London 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840John.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 7th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html