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Prou History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Prou History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The French name Prou was derived from the French name Preux, a nickname meaning "wise," "worthy," or "valiant".

Early Origins of the Prou family

The surname Prou was first found in Brittany, where this eminent family was established in ancient times.

The members of the branch Proust were the lords of Cleuz, of Gironnière and of Portlavigne in Brittany. The members of the family also branched into other regions of France and there they distinguished themselves by means of numerous contributions to the society and to their respective communities. The branch Prousteau was ennobled in 1597.

The branch Proust produced an abbot of Saint Melaine in 1574, a mayor of Nantes in 1693 and two treasurers in 1725 and in 1766. The branch Prousteau of Montlouis was ennobled in 1817 in Paris. The family also rose in prominence by their important alliances to other distinguished families of the day.

Jean Proulx, born in 1647, son of Jean and Louise (née Vallée), travelled from Nantilly, France to the New World in the 17th century and married Jacquette Fournier, daughter of Guillaume and Françoise (née Hebert), on 5th June 1673.

Jean Prou, born in 1641, travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Catherine Pinel, daughter of Gilles and Anne, on 2nd November 1676. They remained together in Quebec until Jean's death at Pointe-aux-Trembles on 9th December 1703. 1

Early History of the Prou family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Prou research. The years 1655, 1706, 1754 and 1826 are included under the topic Early Prou History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Prou Spelling Variations

Throughout the course of history most surnames have undergone changes for many reasons. During the early development of the French language, a son and father may not have chosen to spell their name the same way. Many are simple spelling changes by a person who gave his name, phonetically, to a scribe, priest, or recorder. Many names held prefixes or suffixes which became optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, we have many spelling variations of this name, Prou some of which are Proulx, Leproulx, Proux, Leproux, Prou, Leprou, Preux, Lepreux, Proust, Leproust, Prousteau, Leprousteau, Prouet and many more.

Early Notables of the Prou family

Notable amongst this name at this time was

Jacques Prou (1655-1706), a French Academic Baroque sculptor

Prou Ranking

In France, the name Prou is the 4,006^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 2

Prou migration to the United States +

In the 1700s, land incentives were finally given out by France to 2,000 migrants. Early marriage was encouraged in New France, and youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries, leaving French names scattered across the continent. The search for the Northwest passage continued. Migration from France to New France or Quebec, as it was now more popularly called, continued until 1759. 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 the treaty of Utrecht, Acadia were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Prou were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Prou were

Prou Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Cyprian Prou, aged 21, who landed in Virginia in 1684 3
Margaret Prou, aged 24, who arrived in Virginia in 1684 3

Prou migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Prou Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Jacques Prou, son of Étienne and Marie, who married Françoise Banse, daughter of Jacques and Catherine, in Quebec on 4th october 1667 4
Pierre Prou, son of Louis and Suzanne, who married Marie Gautier, daughter of Louis and Jeanne, in Quebec on 7th November 1669 4
Jean Prou, who married Jacquette Fournier in Quebec in 1673
Jean Prou, son of Jean and Louise, who married Jacquette Fournier, daughter of Guillaume and Françoise, in Quebec on 5th June 1673 4
Jean-Baptiste Prou, who married Catherine Pinel in Quebec in 1676
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Prou Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Jean-Baptiste Prou, son of Jean and Jacquette, who married Louise Rousseau, daughter of Thomas and Madeleine, in Saint-Thomas, Quebec on 14th June 1701 4
Joseph Prou, son of Pierre and Marie, who married Marie-Josephte Dupont, daughter of Gilles and Françoise, in Quebec on 12th September 1702 4
Jacques Prou, son of Jacques and Madeleine, who married Jeanne Pilon, daughter of Antoine and Marie-Anne, in Lachine, Quebec on 1st February 1706 4
François Prou, son of Jean and Catherine, who married Thérèse Faucher, daughter of Léonard and Marie, in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec on 20th February 1713 4
Claude Prou, son of Jean and Catherine, who married Marie-Anne Bibaud, daughter of François and Louise, in Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec on 28th January 1716 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Prou (post 1700) +

Jacques Prou (1655-1706), French Academic Baroque sculptor
Maurice Prou (1861-1930), French historian and the author of "La Gaule Mérovin" (1897)

Citations +

Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
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.