Gendron History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
From the historical and enchanting region of France emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Gendron family. Originally, the French people were known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted in France is extremely interesting. Surnames evolved during the Middle Ages when people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Often they adopted names that were derived from nicknames. Gendron is a nickname type of surname for a person who has inherited his family estates from his father-in-law, deriving its origin from the Old French word "gendre," which meant "son-in-law."
Early Origins of the Gendron family
The surname Gendron was first found in Maine where they held a family seat at De Tendron, a seigneurie in the department of Cher in the arrondissement of Sainte-Amand-Mont-Rond. By the 14th century this prestigious family had moved north to Brittany (French: Bretagne). They leant their name to the seigneurie of Gendronnière and La Croix in that same region where they held considerable estates. They also acquired business interests in Holland.
Nicolas Gendron, born in 1634, son of Pierre and Marie (née Renault), travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After settling in Quebec he married Marie-Marthe Hubert, born in 1642, daughter of Toussaint and Catherine (née Champagne), on 19th February 1656. Together they had eight children, six sons and two daughters, and they remained in Quebec together until Nicolas passed away at Sainte-Famille on 16th January 1671. 1
Early History of the Gendron family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gendron research. More information is included under the topic Early Gendron History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Gendron Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Gendron, Gendrot, Gendreau, Le Gendron, Legendron, Le Gendreau and many more.
Early Notables of the Gendron family
Notable amongst the family at this time was
Gendron World Ranking
In the United States, the name Gendron is the 5,918th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Gendron is ranked the 338th most popular surname with an estimated 13,462 people with that name. 3 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Gendron is the 131st popular surname. 4 France ranks Gendron as 1,530th with 3,856 people. 5
Gendron migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Gendron Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Jean and Philippe Gendron, who settled in Carolina in 1695
Gendron Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Guillaume Gendron, who settled in Louisiana in 1756
- Louis Gendron, who landed in America in 1788 6
- Baptiste Gendron, who arrived in America in 1789 6
Gendron Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Tousaint Gendron, who landed in America in 1811 6
- Julio Gendron, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1837 6
Gendron Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
- Adeard Eugene Gendron, who landed in Wisconsin in 1917 6
Gendron migration to Canada +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Gendron Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
- Guillaume Gendron, who arrived in Montreal in 1653
- Nicolas Gendron, son of Pierre and Marie, who married Marie-Marthe Hubert, daughter of Toussaint and Catherine, in Quebec on 19th February 1656 7
- Pierre Jean Gendron migrated to Quebec in 1661 from Poitou
- Pierre Gendron sailed from Aunis and settled in Quebec in 1663
- Pierre Gendron, son of Georges and Jeanne, who married Jeanne Garnier, daughter of Sébastien and Marie, in Chateâu-Richer, Quebec on 24th January 1663 7
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Gendron Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
- Antoine Gendron, son of Pierre-Jean and Marie, who married Marie-Charlotte Lariou-Lafantaisie, daughter of Jean and Catherine, in Batiscan, Quebec on 16th August 1707 7
- Bernard Gendron, who settled in Quebec in 1710 from Saintonge
- Bernard Gendron, son of Vincent and Marie, who married Marie-Anne Morand, daugter of Jacques and Jacquette, in Quebec on 28th April 1710 7
- Jacques Gendron, son of Nicolas-Hubert and Marie-Marthe, who married Madeleine Trudel, daughter of Nicolas and Barbe, in L'Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 1st August 1712 7
- Joseph-Jacques Gendron, son of Jacques and Marie-Anne, who married Geneviève Asselin, daughter of Jacques and Marie, in Saint-François-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, Quebec on 4th November 1715 7
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Gendron Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
- Nicolas Gendron who arrived in Quebec from Aunis, a port of embarkation on the west coast of France
Contemporary Notables of the name Gendron (post 1700) +
- Dennis "Red" Gendron (1957-2021), American two-time Stanley Cup winning ice hockey coach
- Odore Joseph Gendron (1921-2020), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, Bishop of Manchester from 1975 to 1990
- Peter "Pierre" Gendron (1844-1910), American founder of the Gendron Wheel Company
- François-Eric Gendron (b. 1954), French actor, son of French cellist Maurice Gendron
- Maurice Gendron (1920-1990), French cellist and teacher
- Annick Gendron (d. 2008), French abstract painter
- Joseph Eudore Jean-Guy "Smitty" Gendron (1934-2022), Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 863 games in the NHL for the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers
- Ferdinand-Ambroise Gendron (1856-1917), Canadian lumber merchant and politician who represented the Ottawa electoral district in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1904 to 1917
- François Gendron (b. 1944), Canadian politician, Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Abitibi-Ouest (1976-)
- Stéphane Gendron (b. 1967), Canadian politician and political analyst, Mayor of Huntingdon, Quebec (2003-2013)
- ... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Citations +
- Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. 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.