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Benoist History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Benoist History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
England

The name Benoist has been included within French history since the early portion of the Middle Ages. This Languedoc name is derived from remembrance of St. Benoit d'Aniane, who lived from 750 to 821.

Early Origins of the Benoist family

The surname Benoist was first found in Languedoc, where the family held a family seat since ancient times.

The ancient lineage of this family was believed to originate from the family of Saint Benoît d'Aniane (750-821). By the 1300's the family was well established in the region of Languedoc where several members distinguished themselves through their contribution to the community in which they lived and received grants of lands, titles, and letters patent confirming their nobility and that of future generations. Gilles Benoît was made a Knight in recognition of his great contribution to his region.

Paul Benoit, born in 1626, son of François and Marie (neé Chatellain), arrived in Quebec on 22nd September 1653. He worked as a carpenter and married Isabelle-Elizabeth Gobinet in Montreal, Quebec on 16th September 1658. 1

Early History of the Benoist family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Benoist research. Another 175 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1582, 1618, 1632, 1717, 1721, 1741, 1742, 1770 and 1900 are included under the topic Early Benoist History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Benoist Spelling Variations

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 Benoist is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Benoît, Benoit, Benois, Benoie, Benoi, Benoy, Benoyt, Benoyte, Benoye, Benoys, Bennoît, Bennoit, Bennois, Bennoie, Bennoi, Bennoy, Bennoyt, Bennoyte, Bennoye, Bennoys, Benoitt, Bennoitte, De Benoît, De Benois, De Benoiste, De Bennoist and many more.

Early Notables of the Benoist family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

Antoine Benoist (1632-1717), a French painter and sculptor, personal painter to King Louis XIV. Claude de Benoît, was Count Palatine of the city of Avignon
Another Antoine Benoist (1721-1770), was a draughtsman and engraver, was born at Soissons in 1721. Early in life he was brought to England by Claude du Bosc, the engraver, and found employment as a te...

Benoist Ranking

In France, the name Benoist is the 428^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,969 people with that name. 2

Benoist migration to the United States +

By 1643 there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Since immigration was slow, early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. 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. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Benoist has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Benoist were

Benoist Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Claude Benoist, who landed in Louisiana in 1719 3
Francois Benoist, who landed in Massachusetts in 1763 3
Jean Benoist, who arrived in Maryland in 1763 3
Joseph Benoist, who landed in Massachusetts in 1763 3
Margueritte Benoist, who landed in Maryland in 1763 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Benoist migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Benoist Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Paul Benoist, who landed in Montreal in 1653
Jean Benoist, aged 24, who arrived in Quebec in 1655
Bernard Benoist, who arrived in Canada in 1656
Jullien Benoist, who arrived in Montreal in 1659

Benoist Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Joseph Benoist, who landed in Quebec in 1714

Contemporary Notables of the name Benoist (post 1700) +

J. Hunt Benoist, American politician, Mayor of Clayton, Missouri, 1979-83 4
Dieudonné-Léopold Benoist, French Solicitor and Politician, France
Pierre Benoist, French Lawyer, Notary and Legislator
Antoine Benoist, 18th Century French artist, painter, and sculptor to Louis XIV
Marcel Benoist (d. 1918), French lawyer who established the Swiss Marcel Benoist Prize
Marie Guilhelmine Benoist, 19th Century painter
Louis Auguste Benoist, 19th Century pioneer banker and financier

Historic Events for the Benoist family +

HMS Hood

Mr. Donald Guille Benoist (b. 1913), English Able Seaman serving for the Royal Navy from Guernsey, Channel Island, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 5

The Benoist Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Benefacientes benedicti
Motto Translation: Blessed be doing well

Citations +

Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm