Demarest History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The Demarest surname is a habitational name derived from any of several places named with the Old French words "mareis" or "maresc", meaning "marsh".

Early Origins of the Demarest family

The surname Demarest was first found in Cambray, Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where ancestors of the family belonged to the house of Bousis. According to Arthurian legend, Sir Hector de Maris (or Ector de Maris), was a Knight of the Round Table, younger half-brother of Lancelot and the natural son of King Ban of Benwick and the Lady de Maris.

René Desmarais, son of Jean and Jeanne (née Brassard), travelled from Poitou, France to the New World in the 17th century. He married Jeanne Blondeau at Trois-Rivières, Quebec on 16th November 1671. 1

Early History of the Demarest family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Demarest research. Another 297 words (21 lines of text) covering the years 1096, 1108, 1113, 1360, 1429, 1463, 1496, 1500, 1518, 1519, 1526, 1544, 1567, 1595, 1604, 1610, 1619, 1647, 1648, 1650, 1656, 1661, 1662, 1676, 1679, 1682, 1686, 1696, 1709, 1714, 1721, 1728 and 1752 are included under the topic Early Demarest History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Demarest Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Desmarais, Demarais, Des Marais, Desmarets, Desmarés, Desmareys, Desmaray, Desmaraie, Desmarest, Desmaret, Desmarets, Démarais, Démarets, Démarey, Démareys, Démarés, Démarey, Démaré, Démarés, Démarée, Démarées, Démaraie, Démaray, Maret, Marest, Marais, Mareys, Marets, Marest, Mares, Marays, Marrey, Mareys, Marées, Des Marest, Des Maret, Des Marets, Des Marez, De Marest, Du Marest, Du Marais, Du Marrey, Du Mareys, Du Mares, Du Marays, Du Mareys, Du Marées and many more.

Early Notables of the Demarest family

Notable amongst the family in this period was Baldwin I, Lord of Marets in the 11th century, as well as Hugues Maret, the first Priest at the Benedictine Abbey of Valbenoite, in 1108. Jean Desmarets (1595-1676), Sieur de (Lord of) Saint-Sorlin was the author of many volumes of poetry and critical works, as well as the first chancellor and co-founder of the Académie Française; Nicolas Desmarets, known as the Marquis de Maillebois (1648-1721)...
Another 72 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Demarest Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Demarest Ranking

In the United States, the name Demarest is the 16,570^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Demarest is ranked the 6,242^nd most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 3

Demarest migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Demarest Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

David DeMarest, who arrived in New York in 1663 4

Demarest Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

I Demarest, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Demarest (post 1700) +

Rosemary Regina Demarest, American chief librarian for Price Waterhouse & Co., New York City
William Henry Steele Demarest (1863-1956), American educator, the 11th President of Rutgers College
Clifford Demarest (1874-1946), American composer
David P. Demarest, American academic and writer
Calvin W. Demarest (1886-1925), American national amateur and professional carom billiards champion
Arthur Andrew Demarest, American anthropologist and archaeologist
William Demarest (1892-1983), American character actor
Charles Howell Demarest (1880-1956), American Republican politician, Mayor of Bloomfield, New Jersey, 1925-32 5
Arthur Sidney Demarest (1921-2013), American Republican politician, Candidate for New York State Senate 23rd District, 1952 5
Andrew H. Demarest, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Paterson, New Jersey, 1895-97 5
... (Another 22 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html