Show ContentsCartier History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Cartier was originally an occupational name borne by someone who worked as a transporter of goods. It is derived from the Anglo-Norman French word "caretier".

Early Origins of the Cartier family

The surname Cartier was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where this family has held a family seat since the ancient times.

The family contributed greatly to the affairs of the King and the country as Barons, Ambassadors, and in the military service and they established branches as Cartier de Boiscurtil in Lyonnais; Cartier de Couronneau in Navarre, Guyenne; Cartier Bresson, in Lorraine; Fabron, in Provence; Cartier de Saint-Plansois, de Saint-Maur, Normandy; Yve, de Marchienne, Belgium; Cartier de la Chauvellerie, de Vermette in Poitou; Cartier de St-Malo, from which the navigator Jacques Cartier came; Cartier de Forvie in Liege; Cartier de la Malmaison in Ile-de-France and Poitou; and Cartier of Geneva and Hainaut. 1

The head of the Cartier family in Hainaut received his letters patent of nobility in August 1823 as Baron Cartier. 1

Early History of the Cartier family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cartier research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1086, 1491, 1534, 1557, 1765, 1783, 1791, 1804, 1830 and 1841 are included under the topic Early Cartier History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cartier 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 Cartier is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Cartier, Cartié, Cartiée, Cartiais, Cartiaie, Cartiey, Cartiay, Cartiet, Carthier, Cartiers, Cartyer, Cartyers, Kartier, Kartié, Kartiée, Kartiais, Kartiaie, Kartiey, Kartiay, Kartiet, Karthier, Kartiers, Kartyer, Kartyers, Carttier, Carttié, Carttiée, Carttiais, Carttiaie, Carttiey, Carttiay, Carttiet, Cartthier, Carttiers, Carttyer, Carttyers, Charretier, Carretier, Charreter and many more.

Early Notables of the Cartier family

Notable amongst the family in this period was

  • Jacques Cartier (1491-1557) of St-Malo, French; he was a navigator who found Newfoundland in 1534, explored St. Lawrence River, and claimed Canada in the name of French Kings François I
  • Jean Baptiste Cartier, a French violinist, born at Avignon in 1765; the son of a dancing-master. His first teacher on the violin was an Abbé Walrauf. In 1783 he went to Paris and continued his studies...

Cartier World Ranking

In the United States, the name Cartier is the 9,992nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2 However, in Quebec, Canada, the name Cartier is ranked the 825th most popular surname. 3 And in France, the name Cartier is the 554th popular surname with an estimated 8,428 people with that name. 4


Cartier 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 Cartier surname were

Cartier Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Robert Cartier, who settled in Plymouth in 1620
  • Robert Cartier, who arrived in Plymouth on the Mayflower, in 1620
  • Pierre Cartier married Catherine Gauthier in 1675
  • John Cartier, who was on record in New York in 1695
Cartier Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Paul Cartier married Agnès Fortin in 1705
  • Antoine Cartier, who arrived in Louisiana in 1720
Cartier Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • René Cartier married Agnès Fortin

Cartier migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cartier Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Helene Cartier, who emigrated from La Rochelle to Quebec in 1657
  • Paul Cartier, who was a member of the Carignan-Salieres Regiment in Canada in 1665
  • Paul Cartier, son of Pierre and Marie, who married Barbe Boyer, daughter of Thomas and Marie, in Quebec on 23rd October 1673 5
  • Joseph Cartier, son of Joseph and Élisabeth, who married Marguerite Celles-Duclos, daughter of Gabriel and Barbe, in Montreal, Quebec on 17th September 1674 5
  • Pierre Cartier, son of Philippe and Marie, who married Catherine Gautier, daughter of Charles and Catherine, in Quebec on 25th October 1675 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Cartier Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Paul Cartier, who married Agnès Fortin in 1705 in Quebec
  • Paul Cartier, son of Paul and Barbe, who married Agnès Cloutier, daughter of Jean-Martin and Marie, in Quebec on 16th October 1705 5
  • Nicolas Cartier, son of Guillaume and Marie-Etiennette, who married Gertrude Niquet, daughter of René and Françoise, in Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec on 23rd January 1708 5
  • Joseph Cartier, son of Joseph and Marguerite, who married Agnès Renault, daughter of Antoine and Françoise, in Montreal, Quebec on 12th May 1710 5
  • Guillaume Cartier, son of Guillaume and Etiennette, who married Marie-Claude Gamelin, daughter of Jean and Marguerite, in Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec on 10th December 1722 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Cartier (post 1700) +

  • Sir George-Etienne Cartier (1814-1873), 1st Baronet, Canadian Politician and Prime Minister in 1857, one of the Fathers of Confederation, youngest son of Jacques Cartier, lieutenant-colonel in the Canadian militia, who died in 1841 6
  • Warren A. Cartier, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1908
  • Rudolph G. Cartier, American politician, Candidate in Democratic primary for New Hampshire State Senate 20th District, 1938; Independent Candidate for New Hampshire State House of Representatives from Rochester 3rd Ward, 1938
  • Charles Ernest Cartier (1875-1959), American Republican politician, Mayor of Ludington, Michigan; Elected 1908, 1909; Member of Michigan State Senate 26th District, 1911-12
  • Arthur Jean Baptiste Cartier (b. 1886), American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Massachusetts 15th District, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1924; Candidate for Massachusetts State Auditor, 1919; Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1924
  • Alice G. Cartier, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for New Hampshire State House of Representatives from Rochester 3rd Ward, 1938
  • Pierre Émile Cartier (1932-2024), French mathematician, an associate of the Bourbaki group and at one time a colleague of Alexander Grothendieck
  • Jean-Baptiste Jacques Cartier, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 7
  • Major-General Georges-Eugne-Alphonse Cartier (1877-1960), French General Officer Commanding Group Cartier (1940) 8
  • Louis-François Cartier (1819-1904), French jeweler, founder of the Cartier jewelery company
  • ... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. 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.
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. "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
  4. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  5. Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
  6. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 25 Nov. 2019
  7. Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 11) Jean-Baptiste Cartier. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
  8. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 3) Georges-Eugne-Alphonse Cartier. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Cartier/Georges-Eug%C3%A8ne-Alphonse/France.html


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