Douce History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

Etymology of Douce

What does the name Douce mean?

The story of the name Douce is a long and distinguished tale beginning in the French Province of Gascogne. Douce was a name for a person of sweet, pleasant, or mild disposition as it is derived from the French word "douce," which directly translates to "fresh." Some sources also believe that it could be derived from the French word "doux," which means "soft." 1

Early Origins of the Douce family

The surname Douce 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 they held a family seat from ancient times.

Germain Doucet is recorded as the first ancestor with the name Doucet to arrive in Canada. He arrived at La Heve, Acadia in the year of 1632. In July 1640 his name is seen again as Captain of Pentagouet. Germain received war honours and awards and he returned to France in 1654. Germain had two children that remained in Acadia, one of which was Pierre, who is recorded as the ancestor of all the Canadian Doucet. 2

Early History of the Douce family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Douce research. Another 221 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1272, 1273, 1308, 1459, 1670, 1724, 1750, 1766 and 1789 are included under the topic Early Douce History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Douce Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of French surnames; in part, as spelling, and the spelling names was not yet standardized during the early development of the written French language. Later, there was much branching and movement of families, and spellings would change according to region. Variations of the name Douce include Doucet, Doucé, Dousset, Doussé, Doussée, Doussais, Doussay, Doulcet, Douchet, Doucete, Douget, Dougette and many more.

Early Notables of the Douce family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Gérard de Doucet, Bishop of Tarbes

Douce Ranking

In France, the name Douce is the 5,513^rd most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 3

Douce migration to Australia +

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

Douce Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Douce, English convict who was convicted in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Fairlie" on 14th October 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
Mr. James Douce, (b. 1817), aged 23, English convict who was convicted in Essex, England for life, transported aboard the "Duncan" on 10th December 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1893 5
Mr. William Douce, (b. 1823), aged 17, English convict who was convicted in Essex, England for life, transported aboard the "Duncan" on 10th December 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1888 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Douce (post 1700) +

Claude-Louis Douce, French advertising executive, Neuilly-Sur-Seine
Francis Douce (1757-1834), English antiquary, son of Thomas Douce of the six clerks office, born in London in 1757 6
Steve Douce, British gold medalist British National Cyclo-cross Champion (1983 through 1993)
Joseph Doucé (1945-1990), Belgium psychologist

Citations +

Dauzat, Albert, Morlet, Marie-Thérèse, Dictionaire Étymologique des Noms et Prénoms de France. Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1987. 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 21st September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duncan
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020