Chesnut History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The first people to use the distinguished Chesnut family name were found n France, and was a Huguenot surname. It was brought to England, in the 15th and 16th centuries when the Huguenots fled France because of the religious persecution that threatened their survival there. The Chesnut family originated in Touraine, France. Their name, however, indicates that they once lived near a prominent chestnut tree or grove of such trees.

Early Origins of the Chesnut family

The surname Chesnut was first found in Touraine in France, where they were Lords of Breaux, Montay and la Doucinier, where they held a family seat for many centuries. Conjecturally, the Chestnuts were derived from this source, as we shall see. The Chesneaus were known as the Chesneau (du) de la Haugreniere and had branches in Maine and Lorraine. Guillame (William) Chesneau was Chamberlayn to King Charles VII of France. The family fled France when the revocation of the Edict of Nantes was effected in 1685, disallowing protestants the right to worship.

Early History of the Chesnut family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chesnut research. Another 262 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1743, 1790, 1800, 1803 and 1813 are included under the topic Early Chesnut History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chesnut Spelling Variations

Huguenot surnames were only slightly Anglicized, and they remain to this day a distinct group of surnames in England. Nevertheless, Huguenot surnames have been subject to numerous spelling alterations since the names emerged in France. French surnames have a variety of spelling variations because the French language has changed drastically over the centuries. French was developed from the vernacular Latin of the Roman Empire. It is divided into three historic and linguistic periods: Old French, which developed before the 14th century; Middle French, which was used between the 14th and 16th centuries; and Modern French, which was used after the 16th century and continues to be in use today. In all of these periods, the French language was heavily influenced by other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when the barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heaviliy from the Italian language during the Renaissance. Huguenot names have numerous variations. The name may be spelled Chesneau, Chesnoit, Chestnoit, Chestnit, Chestnitt, Chestnet, Chestnett, Chestnut, Chesnut, Chestnutt and many more.

Early Notables of the Chesnut family

More information is included under the topic Early Chesnut Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chesnut Ranking

In the United States, the name Chesnut is the 11,576^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Chesnut family to Ireland

Some of the Chesnut family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chesnut migration to the United States +

Discovered in the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Chesnut:

Chesnut Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Samuel Chesnut, who arrived in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1811 2
William Chesnut, aged 29, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1812 2
C Chesnut, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 2
M Chesnut, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 2
S Chesnut, who arrived in New York, NY in 1816 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Chesnut (post 1700) +

William Calvin Chesnut (1873-1962), American jurist, Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland (1953-1962)
Victor King Chesnut (1867-1938), American botanist and chemist who pioneered the scientific study of poisonous plants in the United States
Mary Boykin Chesnut (1823-1886), (née Miller), an American author noted for a book published as her Civil War diary, a "vivid picture of a society in the throes of its life-and-death struggle"
Jerry Donald Chesnut (1931-2018), American country music songwriter, known for "Good Year for the Roses", "It's Four in the Morning" and "T-R-O-U-B-L-E"
James Chesnut Jr. (1815-1885), American planter, lawyer and politician, Member of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States from South Carolina (1861-1862)
Eleanor Chesnut (1868-1905), American Christian medical missionary and translator who worked in China from 1894 until her murder in 1905

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)