The surname is one of the most ancient names that came from France during the Middle Ages. It is a Breton name for a person who was a person who was small but a strong fighter. The name Cadiou is derived from the Old French word "cad," which means "little fighter."
The surname Cadiou was first found in Brittany (French: Bretagne), where they are recorded as an ancient family with lands, manors, and estates.
The family was involved in many of the early conflicts between French royalty and local Lords regarding the jurisdiction of their lands. A family member by the name of Cadeau d'Arcy would later hold large estates in Picardy and in île-de-France. He became secretary to the King of France and was ennobled by the French Parliament as a viscount on 30th June 1830. Many family members later migrated to Acadia in Canada. Some settled in the province of Quebec, while others left for Louisiana in the forced exodus of the Acadians.
Pierre Cadieux, son of Jean and Marie (née Valade), settled in Quebec in the 17th century. He married Marguerite Menard, daughter of Jacques and Catherine (née Fortier), at Boucherville on 11th February 1697. He married for the second time on 29th May 1702 at Pointe-aux-Trembles to Jeanne Mersan. [1]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cadiou research. Another 57 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1660 and 1696 are included under the topic Early Cadiou History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
History has changed the spelling of most surnames. During the early development of the French language in the Middle Ages, a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there spelling variations of the name Cadiou, some of which include Cadieux, Cadieu, Cadeau, Cadeaux, Cadio, Cadiot, Cadéo, Cadiou, Cadioux, Cadious, Cadius, Cadier, Caduc, Cadel, Cadelon, Cadelard, Cadenel, Cadenet, Cadu, Cado, Cadou, Cadoux, Cadot, Cadotte, Caudos, Caddieux, Caddieu, Caddeau, Caddeaux, Caddioux, Caddiou, Caddious, Caddius, Caddier and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Cadiou Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In France, the name Cadiou is the 821st most popular surname with an estimated 6,199 people with that name. [2]
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 Cadiou 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 Cadiou were
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: