Devigne History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Ireland

The history of the Devigne family goes back to the Medieval landscape of northwestern France, to the regions known as Brittany and Normandy. The name Lavigne is derived from the Old French word "vigne," meaning "vine," and as such it is likely that the first bearers of this name owned or worked on a vineyard. 1

Early Origins of the Devigne family

The surname Devigne was first found in Brittany where they held a family seat in the seigneury of Haute Morays.

They later branched to Houle in that same province. They were closely allied to this latter House of Houlle de Kermassonet. Branching to the region of Tournai they intermarried with the family of Hennebert. Branches were later found in Maine, Le Mans, Bourbonnais, Guyenne, and Artois. In the south of France they held a family seat in the region of Languedoc at Puylaroque.

Joseph Lavigne, son of Pierre and Jeanne (née Gazaille), settled in Contrecoeur, Quebec and married Marie-Anne Gareau on 12th November 1727. 2

Early History of the Devigne family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Devigne research. More information is included under the topic Early Devigne History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Devigne 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 Devigne, including Lavigne, Levine, Levin, Levigne, Levigny, Laveine, Lavignes, Lavene, Des Vignes, deVigne, Devignes, Devigne, De lavigne and many more.

Early Notables of the Devigne family

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

Devigne Ranking

In France, the name Devigne is the 5,802^nd most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 3

Devigne migration to the United States +

Immigration to New France was slow; therefore, early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Devigne has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Devigne were

Devigne Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jean Devigne, who arrived in Louisiana in 1719 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Devigne (post 1700) +

Jules Devigne (b. 1877), French racecar driver

Citations +

Dionne, N.-E., Origine Des Familles Canadiennes-Français. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. 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/
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)