Show ContentsPicaut History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Picaut has a long French heritage that first began in northwestern region of Brittany. The name is derived from when the family lived in Brittany.

Early Origins of the Picaut family

The surname Picaut was first found in Picardy (Picardie in French) where they held a family seat in the seigneurie of Vieilleville, an honor held by the family for several centuries.

"The Société des Antiquaires de Picardy, it appears, considers that Picard denoted a pike-man; and it is surmised that Picardie was famous tor this class of soldier." 1

Early History of the Picaut family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Picaut research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1540, 1620, 1669, 1670, 1673, 1682 and 1733 are included under the topic Early Picaut History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Picaut 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 Picaut include Picard, Piccard, Picaud, Piccaud, Picart, Piccart, Picarte, Piccarte, Picardet, Pichard, Pichat, Pichault, Picaut, Piccaut, Piccault and many more.

Early Notables of the Picaut family

Notable amongst the family name at this period was Jean Picard, a French bookbinder and bookseller, active in the 1540s; and Bernard Picart (1673-1733), a French engraver, known for his book-illustrations, including the Bible and Ovid. Jean-Félix Picard (1620-1682) was a French astronomer...
Another 41 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Picaut Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Picaut family

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 Picaut surname were Pierre Picard, one of the earliest settlers, arrived in Quebec from Normandie in 1629; Hugues settled in New France from Brittany in 1665; Louis Picard arrived in Quebec from Ile-de-France in 1759.



  1. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print


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