Decaux History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
England

The surname Decaux comes from the region of Gascogne in southwest France. It was a name for someone who lived in Gascoigne.

John de Caleto or Caux (d. 1263), Treasurer of England, was "probably a native of the Pays de Caux. By Matthew Paris he is called John of Caen (Johannes de Cadamo), and other writers give his cognomen in the various forms De Calceto, De Cauz, De Cauaz, De Caus, and De Chauce. The Peterborough chronicler, Walter of Whittlesea, who wrote in the fourteenth century, states that he was born in Normandy, of a noble family, being related to Eleanor of Provence, the queen of Henry III, and entered the monastic life when a child seven years of age. Coming over to England at an early age, he became a monk of the monastery of St. Swithhun, Winchester, of which he was chosen prior in 1247." 1

Early Origins of the Decaux family

The surname Decaux was first found in Gascony (French: Gascogne), an area of southwest France bordering Spain, that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution, where the family held a family seat in ancient times.

Antoine Casse, born in 1639, son of Noel and Michelle of St.Pierre, travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Piloy De Pitie, born in 1639, daughter of François and Claudine, at Château-Richer on 14th October 1665. They remained together in Quebec until Antoine's death on 1st June 1709. Piloy passed away on 28th February 1713. 2

Early History of the Decaux family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Decaux research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1576, 1630, 1646, 1672, 1673, 1715, 1719, 1741, 1765, 1792, 1793, 1800, 1810 and 1820 are included under the topic Early Decaux History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Decaux Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Decaux, including Casse, Cassé, Cassée, Casset, Casser, Cassez, Casson, Cassonne, Casault, Casot, Caseau, Caseaux, Casseau, Casseaux, Cassaud, Cazeau, Cazeaux, Cazot, Cazotte, Cazault, Cazaud, Caze, Cazes, Lecasse, Lacasse, Lecassé, Lacassé, Lacassée, Lecasset, Lacasset, Lacaze, Lecasson, Lacasonne, Lecasault, Lacazeau, Ducasse, Ducassé, Ducasset, Ducasson, Ducasault, de Casson, de Cassonne, de Caze, de Cazes, Descaseaux, Deschaseaux and many more.

Early Notables of the Decaux family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Jean Baptiste du Casse (1646-1715), a French buccaneer and admiral; Dollier de Casson, a prominent Quebec missionary, explorer, architect, engineer and writer, among whose works was "Histoire de Montréal" (1672-1673), the first local history of the Montreal area, and a very true picture...
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Decaux Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Decaux Ranking

In France, the name Decaux is the 2,199^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,897 people with that name. 3

Decaux migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Decaux Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. David DeCaux, (b. 1802), aged 24, English convict who was convicted in Suffolk, England for 7 years for house breaking, transported aboard the "Earl St Vincent" on 20th April 1826, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1837 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Decaux (post 1700) +

Jean-Claude Decaux (1937-2016), French entrepreneur and billionaire, founder of the advertising firm JCDecaux in 1964
Alain Decaux (1925-2016), French historian
Georges Decaux (b. 1930), French professional road bicycle racer who won a stage in the Tour de France
Abel Decaux (1869-1943), French organist and composer

Citations +

Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th September 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-st-vincent