Show ContentsBourdin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Bourdin name comes from that Medieval landscape of northwestern France known as Brittany. The name Bourdin was originally derived from the family having lived in Brittany.

Early Origins of the Bourdin family

The surname Bourdin was first found in Brittany (French: Bretagne), where the family held a family seat from ancient times.

The family first established itself as an important participant in the cultural and political events of the region in 1175. Eon Bourdin, an archer, was first registered in 1420 for his involvement in the liberation of an imprisoned duke. The family continued to prosper and eventually branched out into Normandy. The family line of Bourdon de La Croix was registered in the region both in 1423 and in 1535. Several members of the Bourdon family were subjects of the King's court at Alençon in the 17th century. Claude Bourdon, a squire and the Lord of Gruchy, was also a political adviser in Caen in 1700.

Jacques Bourdon, born in 1650, son of Jean and Magloire of St.Godard in Rouen, travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Marie Menard, daughter of Jacques and Catherine, at Boucherville on 8th February 1672. 1

Early History of the Bourdin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bourdin research. The years 1597, 1601, 1616, 1642, 1668, 1671, 1700 and 1720 are included under the topic Early Bourdin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bourdin 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 Bourdin, including Bourdon, Bourdin, Bourdine, Bourdonneau and many more.

Early Notables of the Bourdin family

Notable amongst this name at this time was

  • Jacques Bourdin, the Lord of Chars and of Villeines in the Touraine region, who became the secretary to Charles IX

Bourdin Ranking

In France, the name Bourdin is the 446th most popular surname with an estimated 9,658 people with that name. 2


Bourdin 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 Bourdin surname were

Bourdin Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Jean Bourdin, who settled in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1822

Bourdin migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bourdin Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Mr. Jacques Bourdin, French settler travelling to Canada for work arriving on 28th March 1665 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Bourdin (post 1700) +

  • Charles Bourdin (1790-1873), French engineer and inventor of the hydraulic turbine in 1824


  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  2. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  3. 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/


Houseofnames.com on Facebook