Brisson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The French name Brisson originated in the northern coastal region of France known as Normandy. The name Normandy was derived from the settlement and conquest of the territory by ("Northmen") better known as Vikings.
Early Origins of the Brisson family
The surname Brisson was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where the family first originated, maintaining their status as one of the more distinguished families of the region.
Robert de Brix, companion to Duke Guillaume, was first registered in the region in 1066. The family later received its title of nobility in 1666. The family continued to prosper and was later cited in Fontenay le Comte in the sub-prefecture of Vendée. Nicolas Brisson was recorded in the region in 1431. Other noteworthy family members include a commander of Rivière (in the region of Touraine) in 1404 and Barnabé Brisson, thought to be the most scholarly of men by King Henry III, he was president of parliament in Paris. 1
Early History of the Brisson family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brisson research. Another 52 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1467, 1531, 1591, 1666, 1810 and 1813 are included under the topic Early Brisson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Brisson Spelling Variations
Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Brisson, including Brisson, Brison, Brès, Bris, Brix, de Brix, Bresset, Bresson, Bressot, Brice, Brisse, Brisset, Brissonot, Brissonneau, Brissonet, Brissonnet, Brissot, Brissaud and many more.
Early Notables of the Brisson family
Notable amongst the family in this period was
- Barnabé Brisson (Latinised: Barnabas Brissonius) (1531-1591) was a French jurist and politician
Brisson World Ranking
In the United States, the name Brisson is the 9,733rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Brisson is ranked the 501st most popular surname with an estimated 9,739 people with that name. 3 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Brisson is the 217th popular surname. 4 France ranks Brisson as 1,536th with 3,849 people. 5
Brisson migration to the United States +
By 1643 there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Since immigration was slow, early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. 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 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Brisson has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Brisson were
Brisson Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Madeleine Brisson, who landed in Louisiana in 1719 6
Brisson migration to Canada +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Brisson Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
- René Brisson, who arrived in Canada in 1664
- Rene Brisson, who arrived in Canada in 1664
- René Brisson, son of René and Anne, who married Geneviève Testu, daughter of Pierre and Geneviève, in L'Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 23rd January 1696 7
- Charles Brisson, son of René and Anne, who married Marie Letartre, daughter of Charles and Marie, in L'Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 25th November 1698 7
Brisson Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
- Jean Brisson, son of René and Anne, who married Catherine Dancosse, daughter of Pierre and Marie-Madeleine, in Rivière-Ouelle, Quebec on 20th June 1707 7
- Jean Brisson, son of René and Anne, who married Catherine Dancosse, daughter of Pierre and Marie-Madeleine, in Rivière-Ouelle, Quebec on 20th June 1707 7
- Sébastien Brisson, son of Sébastien and Jeanne, who married Catherine Pilliar in Montreal, Quebec on 13th January 1709 7
- René Brisson, son of René and Geneviève, who married Marie-Josephte Doyon, daughter of Antoine and Françoise, in Château-Richer, Quebec on 11th February 1719 7
- Pierre Brisson, son of René and Geneviève, who married Marie-Catherine Courteau, daughter of Pierre and Marie-Madeleine, in Rivière-Ouelle, Quebec on 9th April 1720 7
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Contemporary Notables of the name Brisson (post 1700) +
- Alphonse V. Brisson, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Mayor of White Plains, New York, 1937 8
- François Brisson (b. 1958), French footballer who played from 1975 through 1993
- Eugène Henri Brisson (1835-1912), French statesman, 50th Prime Minister of France (1885-1886) and 66th Prime Minister of France in 1898
- Mathurin Jacques Brisson (1723-1806), French zoologist and natural philosopher, best known for his Pesanteur Spécifique des Corps (1787), a significant work involving the "specific weight of bodies"
- Aimé Brisson (1928-2023), Canadian politician from Montreal, Quebec, Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Jeanne-Mance (1962-1976)
- Thérèse Brisson (b. 1966), Canadian gold medalist women's ice hockey player at the 2002 Winter Olympics
- Gerald Joseph Brisson (1937-2013), Canadian professional NHL ice hockey left winger
- Jean-Serge Brisson (b. 1954), Canadian politician, leader of the Libertarian Party of Canada
Citations +
- Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
- "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
- 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. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html