From the historical and enchanting region of France emerged a multitude of notable family names, including that of the distinguished Chancel family. Originally, the people in this region went by one (personal) name. Surnames evolved during the Middle Ages when people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. These names then began to become "fixed" or hereditary between the generations. One of the types of names adopted as surnames were those derived from nicknames. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name, and generally reflected some physical characteristics or other attribute of the first person that used the name. The Chancel surname derives from the Old French word "cheaunce," which means "chance," and as such was likely originally a nickname for a gambler, for a lucky person, or ironically, for an unlucky person.
The surname Chancel was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France, where this distinguished family has held a family seat since ancient times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chancel research. Another 143 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1263, 1406, 1412, 1423, 1407, 1409, 1644, 1420, 1428, 1484, 1507, 1600 and 1656 are included under the topic Early Chancel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations of this family name include: Lachance, LaChance, Lachancé, Lachancée, Lachancy, Lachancey, Chancé, Chancée, Chancy, Chancey, le Chancy, le Chancey, de Chancy, de Chancey, Chancel, Chansel, Chanceau, Duchancel, Duchansel, Duchanceau, Chancelier, Lechancelier and many more.
Notable amongst the family at this time was Étienne de Chancey, advisor to the duke, 1420; Hughes de Chancey, a squire, 1428; Jean de Chancey, advisor to the...
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Chancel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Catherine and Jean Chancelier, who emigrated to Canada; Charles Chancey, who settled in Virginia with his wife and two children, in 1621; Antoine Lachance, who arrived in Quebec in 1659.