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The French name Leclère comes from "le clerc", or "the clerk", and as such was an occupational name originally used for a scribe or secretary.
The surname Leclère was first found in Limousin, where this renowned family held a family seat from ancient times.
Many members of this important family were recorded as participants in the French Revolution and in its resultant political forums. Théodore François Joseph Leclaire was a member of the military who was promoted to the rank of Chief of Battalion of the 98th regiment in 1791, followed in 1793 by a promotion to Commander of Arms. He was also honoured by being admitted to the Legion of Honour.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leclère research. Another 31 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1587, 1622, 1633, 1637, 1657, 1691, 1697, 1711, 1714, 1736, 1774 and 1823 are included under the topic Early Leclère History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
French surnames were subject to numerous alterations in spelling because of the various cultural groups that inhabited specific regions. Eventually, each region possessed its own local dialect of the French language. The early development of the French language, however, was also influenced by other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heavily from the Italian language during the Renaissance. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Leclère is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Leclair, Leclaire, Leclaires, Leclère, Leclere, Leclères, Lecleres, Leclert, Lecler, le Clair, le Claire, le Claires, le Clère, le Clere, le Clères, le Clert, le Cler, Clair, Claire, Claires, Clère, Clere, Clères, Clert and many more.
Notable amongst the family was Jean Leclerc (c.1587-1633), French painter and etcher, born into the service of Duke Charles III of Lorraine; Michel Le Clerc (1622-1691), a French lawyer and dramatist; Sébastien Leclerc (1637-1714), a French printmaker, draughtsman...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Leclère Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In France, the name Leclère is the 703rd most popular surname with an estimated 6,870 people with that name. 1
France was active as a cultural leader in the early 16th century. One particular area in which they lead was the exploration of the New World. The explorers, like Jacques Cartier in 1534, led the way to North America. Champlain, in 1608, made the first of twenty voyages to France to attract settlers and brought the first migrant in 1617. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec, and the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Leclère has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Leclère were
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: