Bonnet History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Germany

Etymology of Bonnet

What does the name Bonnet mean?

The French surname Bonnet is an occupational name for someone who made and sold hats. 1 2

Early Origins of the Bonnet family

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

Early History of the Bonnet family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bonnet research. Another 389 words (28 lines of text) covering the years 1642, 1668, 1688, 1703, 1718, 1720, 1765 and 1793 are included under the topic Early Bonnet History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bonnet Spelling Variations

The many different spellings of French surnames can be partially explained by the use of local dialects and by the influence of other languages during the early development of the French language. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Bonnet is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Bonnet, Bonner, Bonné, Bonnée, Bonnais, Bonney, Bonnay, Bonnaie, Bonnai, Bonnaye, Bonet, Boner, Boné, Bonée, Boney, Bonay, Bonaye, de Bonnet, de Bonner, de Bonnay, de Bonney, de Bonet, de Boner, de Boney, de Bonay, de Bonnet, de Bonner, de Bonney, de Bonnay, de Bonet, de Boner, de Boney, de Bonay, de Bonet, du Bonnet, Dubonnet and many more.

Early Notables of the Bonnet family

Antoine Bonnet, Baron of Maureilhan...
Stede Bonnet (c. 1688-1718) was an early 18th-century Barbadian pirate, sometimes called "the gentleman pirate" because he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime...

Bonnet Ranking

In the United States, the name Bonnet is the 18,796^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3 However, in France, the name Bonnet is ranked the 28^th most popular surname with an estimated 50,999 people with that name. 4

Bonnet migration to the United States +

Approximately 110 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. France gave land incentives for 2,000 migrants during the next decade. 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. Migration to New France (Quebec) continued from France until it fell in 1759. In the year 1675 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 Bonnet 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 Bonnet were

Bonnet Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Daniel Bonnet with his wife Jeane settled in New York State in 1700
Daniel Bonnet, who landed in New York in 1700 5
Claude Bonnet who settled in Louisiana, and Daniel Bonnet and his wife Jeanne Couturier who arrived in New York State in 1700-1701
Daniel Bonnet, who settled in New York in 1715
Estienne Bonnet, who landed in Louisiana in 1718 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bonnet Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

David Bonnet, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1806 5
Joseph Bonnet, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1806 5
Katharine Bonnet, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1806 5
John Bonnet, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1806 5
Thomas Bonnet, aged 23, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1826 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bonnet migration to Canada +

Bonnet Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Mr. Pierre Bonnet, French settler travelling to Canada for work arriving on 6th April 1643 6
Mr. Louis Bonnet, French settler travelling to Canada for work arriving on 1st April 1665 6
Mélanie Bonnet, daughter of Jean and Jeanne Antigny, married Marie Buisson in Québec in 1671

Bonnet Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Robert Bonnet, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1817

Contemporary Notables of the name Bonnet (post 1700) +

Roger-Maurice Bonnet (b. 1937), French astrophysicist and academic
Guy Bonnet (1945-2024), French author, composer and singer
Catherine Bonnet (1965-2023), French professional tennis player at the 1988 Aix-en-Provence Open
Renée Pietrafesa Bonnet (1938-2022), French and Uruguayan composer, pianist, organist, harpsichordist and conductor, born in Montevideo, Uruguay
Georges Bonnet (1919-2021), French writer and poet
Camille Bonnet (1918-2020), French rugby union player who won the 1944–45 French Rugby Union Championship
Christian Bonnet (1921-2020), French politician, Member of the French National Assembly for Morbihan (1956-1958)
Gaspard Adrien Bonnet du Louvat de Champollon, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 7
Joseph Alphonse Hyacinthe Alexandre de Bonnet d'Honnières, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 8
... (Another 11 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sources +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Debien, Gabriel. Liste Des Engagés Pour Le Canada Au XVIIe Siècle. Vol. 6, Laval University, 1952. (Retreived 24th May 2018). Retrieved from https://lebloguedeguyperron.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/130-liste-des-contrats-dengagement-pour-la-nouvelle-france-releves-a-la-rochelle-entre-1634-et-1679/
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 12) Gaspard Bonnet. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 11) Joseph Bonnet. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html