Marais History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  England 
  France 


The Marais surname is a habitational name derived from any of several places named with the Old French words "mareis" or "maresc", meaning "marsh".

Early Origins of the Marais family

The surname Marais was first found in Cambray, Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where ancestors of the family belonged to the house of Bousis. According to Arthurian legend, Sir Hector de Maris (or Ector de Maris), was a Knight of the Round Table, younger half-brother of Lancelot and the natural son of King Ban of Benwick and the Lady de Maris.

René Desmarais, son of Jean and Jeanne (née Brassard), travelled from Poitou, France to the New World in the 17th century. He married Jeanne Blondeau at Trois-Rivières, Quebec on 16th November 1671. 1

Early History of the Marais family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Marais research. Another 297 words (21 lines of text) covering the years 1096, 1108, 1113, 1360, 1429, 1463, 1496, 1500, 1518, 1519, 1526, 1544, 1567, 1595, 1604, 1610, 1619, 1647, 1648, 1650, 1656, 1661, 1662, 1676, 1679, 1682, 1686, 1696, 1709, 1714, 1721, 1728 and 1752 are included under the topic Early Marais History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Marais Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Desmarais, Demarais, Des Marais, Desmarets, Desmarés, Desmareys, Desmaray, Desmaraie, Desmarest, Desmaret, Desmarets, Démarais, Démarets, Démarey, Démareys, Démarés, Démarey, Démaré, Démarés, Démarée, Démarées, Démaraie, Démaray, Maret, Marest, Marais, Mareys, Marets, Marest, Mares, Marays, Marrey, Mareys, Marées, Des Marest, Des Maret, Des Marets, Des Marez, De Marest, Du Marest, Du Marais, Du Marrey, Du Mareys, Du Mares, Du Marays, Du Mareys, Du Marées and many more.

Early Notables of the Marais family

Notable amongst the family in this period was

Marais Ranking

In France, the name Marais is the 668th most popular surname with an estimated 7,114 people with that name. 2 However, in South Africa, the name Marais is ranked the 120th most popular surname with an estimated 46,936 people with that name. 3



Marais migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Marais Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Marais (post 1700) +






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