Noble surnames, such as Cayer, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the French people. The original bearer of the name Cayer, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of Picardy. In France, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate.
The surname Cayer was first found in Picardy (French: Picardie.)
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cayer research. Another 130 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1380, 1425, 1454, 1554, 1559, 1562, 1572, 1636, 1645, 1650, 1658, 1664, 1673, 1688, 1696, 1780, 1811, 1825, and 1864 are included under the topic Early Cayer History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations of this family name include: Cail, Calhau, Caillou, Cailloux, Caillouet, Caillaret, De Caillaret, Caillette, Callier, Caillé, Caillot, Caillet, Caillat, Cailliat, Cailliot, Caillau, Caillaud, Caillaux, Cailleaux, Caillard, Cailleteau, Cailleton, Caillotin, Caille, la Caille, Caill, Caillebot, Caillemer, Cayer, Cayart, Caye, Cayeu, Cayeux and many more.
Notable amongst the family name at this period was Jean Cayart, born in La Capelle in 1645 who was an engineer; the Caillau family produced two principal county magistrates of Mans in 1658 and 1664, councilors of this city, three lawyers at the Parisian parliament, and many officers; the name Caillaux was distinguished in Berry, where there was a principal county magistrate of Brouges in 1650; of the same name were some magistrates of Nantes in 1636 and 1650. The Cailhaut of La Theysserie of Nantes produced a member of the sovereign council of New France (Canada), who died in 1673...
Another 120 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cayer Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Cayer is the 17,008th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [1] However, in Quebec, Canada, the name Cayer is ranked the 619th most popular surname. [2]
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: