Picard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:

France

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

(226)

The name Picard has a long French heritage that first began in northwestern region of Brittany. The name is derived from when the family lived in Brittany.

Early Origins of the Picard family

The surname Picard was first found in Picardy (Picardie in French) where they held a family seat in the seigneurie of Vieilleville, an honor held by the family for several centuries.

"The Société des Antiquaires de Picardy, it appears, considers that Picard denoted a pike-man; and it is surmised that Picardie was famous tor this class of soldier." 1

Early History of the Picard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Picard research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1540, 1620, 1669, 1670, 1673, 1682 and 1733 are included under the topic Early Picard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Picard Spelling Variations

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 Picard, including Picard, Piccard, Picaud, Piccaud, Picart, Piccart, Picarte, Piccarte, Picardet, Pichard, Pichat, Pichault, Picaut, Piccaut, Piccault and many more.

Early Notables of the Picard family

Notable amongst the family name at this period was

Jean Picard, a French bookbinder and bookseller, active in the 1540s; and Bernard Picart (1673-1733), a French engraver, known for his book-illustrations, including the Bible and Ovid
Jean-Félix Picard (1620-1682) was a French astronomer and priest born in La Flèche. He was the first person to measure the size of the Earth to a reasonable degree of accuracy in a survey conducted in...

Picard World Ranking

In the United States, the name Picard is the 3,242^nd most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Picard is ranked the 282^nd most popular surname with an estimated 15,249 people with that name. 3 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Picard is the 104^th popular surname. 4 France ranks Picard as 94^th with 30,056 people. 5

Picard migration to the United States +

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 Picard surname were

Picard Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Hugues Picard, who settled in New France from Brittany in 1665

Picard Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

François Picard, who arrived in America from Poitou in 1704
Louis Picard, who settled in Louisiana in 1756
Pierre Picard, who landed in New York in 1798 6

Picard Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Peter Picard, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1812 6
Samuel Picard, who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1833 6
Cyrus, Josiah, Nathaniel and William Picard, who settled in Philadelphia in 1852
Ludwig Picard, who landed in America in 1854 6
Aaron Picard, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1869
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Picard migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Picard Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Pierre Picard, one of the earliest settlers, who arrived in Quebec from Normandie in 1629
Hugues Picard, who landed in Montreal in 1653
Mr. Nicolas Picard, French labourer travelling to Canada to work for Arnaud Peré arriving on 14th April 1656 7
Jean Picard, son of Pierre and Renée, who married Marie Caron, daughter of Robert and Marie, in Quebec on 28th July 1656 8
Hugues Picard, son of Gabriel and Michelle, who married Antoine De Liercourt, daughter of Philippe and Jeanne, in Montreal, Quebec on 30th June 1660 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Picard Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

François Picard, son of Jean and Marie, who married Geneviève Picard, daughter of Pierre and Jeanne, in Montreal, Quebec on 5th May 1704 8
Alexis Picard, son of Pierre and Jeanne, who married Louise Brault, daughter of Henri and Claude, in Montreal, Quebec on 28th July 1704 8
Charles-François Picard, son of Jean and Marie, who married Geneviève Ménard, daughter of Louis and Marie-Anne, in Boucherville, Quebec on 3rd February 1722 8
Joseph-Jean Picard, son of Jean and Marie-Anne, who married Marie-Louise Reiche, daughter of François and Marguerite, in Quebec on 18th April 1723 8
François Picard, son of Jacques and Marie-Anne, who married Marguerite Cusson, daughter of Jean and Marguerite, in Montreal, Quebec on 24th November 1727 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Picard (post 1700) +

Rosalind Picard (b. 1962), American electrical engineer and professor
Robert G. Picard (b. 1951), American writer and scholar
Henry Picard (1906-1997), American PGA golfer with 35 professional wins, inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in April 2006
Roger A. Picard, American Democratic Party politician, Social worker; Member of Rhode Island State House of Representatives 66th District, 2001-02
Louis Picard, American politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Erie County 1st District, 1909
Joseph A. Picard, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Jackson, Michigan, 1935-62 (acting, 1935-36)
John M. Picard, American Republican politician, Mayor of West Haven, Connecticut, 2011-12
John A. Picard, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Delegate to Michigan State Constitutional Convention from Saginaw County 1st District, 1961
G. Leland Picard, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for New Hampshire State House of Representatives from Derry, 1938
Frank Albert Picard (1889-1963), American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1932 (alternate), 1936; Delegate to Michigan convention to ratify 21st amendment from Saginaw County 1st District, 1933;
... (Another 26 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)