Show ContentsBelange History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Normandy is the region of ancient France from which the name Belange was derived. It comes from when the family lived at Anger in Normandy. The prefix of the name, "bel", means beautiful and it is believed that it was originally describing the place that it originates from as beautiful.

Early Origins of the Belange family

The surname Belange was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

The family branched into different regions of France including Poitou, and the lands of Hainière in Flanders (Belguim) where they adapted the spelling of their name to Boulengier and appear as a notable family in that region. Additionally, they held the estates of Pistor in Lorraine, and Montigny in Hainaut. By the 16th century, the family branched again and acquired estates at Remfort in Anjou, Thorigny in Maine and Brie. Many members of the Thorigny family contributed greatly during the conflicts of the times and are recorded as esteemed individuals. 1

François Belanger, born in 1612, son of François and Françoise (née Horlays), travelled from Saint-Pierre de Seez to Quebec in 1636. He married Marie Guyon on 12th July 1637 and together they had thirteen children, five of which were sons that carried on the family name of Belanger. 2

Early History of the Belange family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Belange research. Another 69 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1606, 1660, 1786, 1811, 1845 and 1850 are included under the topic Early Belange History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Belange Spelling Variations

There were a great number of spelling variations in French surnames. One reason for this was the wide variety of cultural influences present in France during the early development of the French language. The many spelling variations of the name include Belanger, Belangée, Bellanger, Belenger, Baranger, Barranger, Barringer, Bellenger, Bellinguier, Beranger, Beringer, Beringier, Beringuier, Bezanger, Boulanger, Belanget, Bellanget, Belenget, Bellenget, Bellinger and many more.

Early Notables of the Belange family

Notable amongst the family in this period was Lord Bellanger of Thorigny; and Jean Boulanger (1606-1660), a French artist active in Italy during the Baroque period, probably best known for his frescoes at the Ducal palace of Sassuolo.Mme. Marie Julie Boulanger, (née Halligner), born 1786, died 1850; was a dramatic singer. She studied in the Conservatoire under...
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Belange Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Belange family

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec, in 1663 there were only 500, 2,000 migrants arrived 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 migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. Migration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until it fell in 1759. 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. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many distinguished contributions have been made by members of this family name Belange. It has been prominent in the arts, religion, politics and culture in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Belange were Julian Belanger who settled in New York in 1775; Nicolas Belanger who married Marie De Rainville, daughter of Paul and Rolline Poete in 1659 in Vachon.



  1. 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.
  2. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print


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