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The Ballou name comes from that Medieval landscape of northwestern France known as Brittany. The name Ballou was originally derived from the family having lived in Brittany, where this distinguished family was established from ancient times.
The surname Ballou was first found in Brittany, where this distinguished family was established from ancient times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ballou research. Another 128 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1397, 1701, 1711, 1732, 1777, 1834 and 1893 are included under the topic Early Ballou History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Ballou, including Bal, Balle, Ball, Balard, Balart, Baland, Balland, Balet, Ballet, Ballot, Balot, Ballon, Balon, Ballou and many more.
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ballou Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Ballou is the 4,837th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1
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 Ballou surname were