This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Besnard research.
Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1573, 1666, 1789, 1807, 1808, and 1844 are included under the topic Early Besnard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

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 Besnard, including Benard, Bénard, Benar, Bénar, Besnard, Bésnard and many more.

Notable amongst the family in this period was Laurent Bénard, who was the prior at Cluny College and was born in 1573 in Nevers, France. He wrote at least five works during his lifetime. The De Bénard family owned much land, property and manors, and members of this family were barons...
Another 86 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Besnard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Besnard Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

• Francoise Besnard, who arrived in Montreal, Que. in 1653
• Francoise Besnard, who landed in Montreal in 1653
• Rene Besnard, aged 24, who landed in Montreal in 1653