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Bourgeois History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Bourgeois History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The early French language of the northwestern region known as Brittany (French: Bretagne) is the soil from which the many generations of the Bourgeois family have grown. The name Bourgeois was given to a member of the family who was a person known as a "freeman". The name Bourgeois is derived from the French word "bourgeois", which in medieval times was used to refer to the "free-men" of a town. "Free-men" were those whose status was between the noble classes and the serfs, who were obligated to work the feudal estates of the lords.

Early Origins of the Bourgeois family

The surname Bourgeois was first found in Brittany, where the family first originated and maintained their status as one of the more distinguished families of the region.

Several family members figured amongst the nobles of Trégnier en 1437. The Lords of Auteville, Heauville, and Gruchy were all ennobled in 1507. The family prospered and branched out into other regions such as Quimperlé, receiving its title of nobility in 1711.

The family name of Bourgeois was later found in the sub-prefecture of Brest as well as in the region of Poitou where several members held the position of principal county magistrate. The patronymic Le Bourgeois was also registered in Normandy, giving its name to four prominent families that were ennobled in 1666 and in 1671. 1

Jacques Bourgeois, born in 1618, was a French surgeon that settled in the New World in the 17th century. He arrived in Acadia aboard the ship Aulnay in the year of 1642. A year after arriving in Canada he married Jeanne Trahan at Port-Royal in 1643. Jacques worked as a military doctor and is regarded as the founder of Beaubassin, originally an Acadian village that is now located in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. 2

Early History of the Bourgeois family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bourgeois research. Another 163 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1541, 1550, 1557, 1561, 1620, 1663, 1676, 1700, 1708, 1711, 1713, 1715, 1716, 1750, 1808, 1809, 1810, 1811, 1851, 1857, 1920, 1927 and 1945 are included under the topic Early Bourgeois History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bourgeois 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 Bourgeois, Bourgois, Bourgeoys, Bourgeot, Le Bourgeois, de Bourgeois, Bourjois, Bourgès, Bourgeix and many more.

Early Notables of the Bourgeois family

Notable amongst this name at this time was

Louis Bourgeois, a French writer on the theory of music, born in Paris in the beginning of the 16th century. He followed Calvin in 1541 to Geneva, where he was cantor of one of the churches, but quarr...
Louis Thomas Bourgeois, was a dramatic composer, born at Fontaine l'Evêque in 1676. He was counter-tenor at the Grand Opéra in Paris in 1708, but in 1711 devoted himself entirely to composing. In 1713...
Marguerite Bourgeoys, C.N.D., (1620-1700), born in Troyes, France, was the French foundress of the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal; Charles Le Bourgeois, squire and Lord of Beaufraye; Joachim L...

Bourgeois World Ranking

In the United States, the name Bourgeois is the 1,989^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 3 However, in Canada, the name Bourgeois is ranked the 397^th most popular surname with an estimated 11,662 people with that name. 4 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Bourgeois is the 254^th popular surname. 5 Newfoundland, Canada ranks Bourgeois as 738^th with 58 people. 6 France ranks Bourgeois as 91^st with 30,165 people. 7

Bourgeois migration to the United States +

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Migration was slow. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Bourgeois has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Bourgeois were

Bourgeois Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Michel Bourgeois, who arrived in South Carolina in 1755
Claude Bourgeois, who settled in Massachusetts in 1755
Claude Bourgeois, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1755-1768 8
Pierre Bourgeois, who arrived in South Carolina in 1755 8
M. Bourgeois, who settled in Massachusetts in 1761
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bourgeois Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Alexander Bourgeois, who arrived in Pike County, Indiana in 1867
Henry Bourgeois, who landed in Pike County, Ind in 1868 8

Bourgeois migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bourgeois Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Charles Bourgeois, son of Jacques and Jeanne, who married Anne Dugas, daughter of Abraham and Marguerite, in Port-Royal, Quebec in 1668 9
Germain Bourgeois, son of Jacques and Jeanne, who married Marguerite Béliveau, daughter of Antoine and Andrée, in Port-Royal, Quebec in 1673 9
Charles Bourgeois, son of Charles and Anne, who married Marie Blanchard, daughter of Guillaume and Huguette, in Port-Royal, Quebec in 1692 9
Antoine Bourgeois, son of Pierre and Marguerite, who married Catherine Marquet, daughter of François and Marie, in Quebec on 24th April 1697 9

Bourgeois Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Claude Bourgeois, son of Charles and Anne, who married Anne Blanchard, daughter of Guillaume and Huguette, in Beaubassin, Quebec in 1703 9
Guillaume Bourgeois, son of Germain and Marguerite, who married Catherine Thibodeau, daughter of Pierre and Jeanne, in Port-Royal, Quebec in 1705 9
Charles Bourgeois, son of Charles and Marie, who married Madeleine Cormier, daughter of Alexis and Marie, in Beaubassin, Quebec on 16th February 1718 9
Joseph Bourgeois, son of Germain and Madeleine, who married Anne Leblanc, daughter of Pierre and Madeleine, in Port-Royal, Quebec on 10th January 1719 9
Claude Bourgeois, son of Germain and Madeleine, who married Marie Leblanc, daughter of Pierre and Madeleine, in Port-Royal, Quebec on 24th November 1721 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bourgeois Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Jeanne Trahan Bourgeois, who landed in Acadia in 1836

Contemporary Notables of the name Bourgeois (post 1700) +

Jean-Louis Bourgeois (1940-2022), American author who studied literature and architectural history at Harvard University
Raoulle Bourgeois, American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in Dieppe, 1897-1905 10
Mary Bourgeois, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Louisiana, 1956 10
Charles A. Bourgeois, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Louisiana, 1888, 1900 10
Louise Bourgeois (b. 1911), American (French-born) sculptor
Raoul le Bourgeois, American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in Dieppe, 1884 11
Michel Bourgeois (1940-2022), French politician of the Socialist Party who represented Doubs's 2nd constituency in the National Assembly from 2001 to 2002
Charles-François Bourgeois, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 12
Brigadier-General Jean Bourgeois (1892-1981), French Commanding Officer during World War II 13
Léon Victor Auguste Bourgeois (1851-1925), French statesman, member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague (1903–1925), who won the 1920 Nobel Peace Prize
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

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.
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
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)
Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 11) Charles-FranÃ§ois Bourgeois. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 3) Jean Bourgeois. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Bourgeois/Jean-Joseph-Alexandre/France.html