Douchet History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The story of the name Douchet is a long and distinguished tale beginning in the French Province of Gascogne. Douchet 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 Douchet family

The surname Douchet 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 Douchet family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Douchet 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 Douchet History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Douchet 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 Douchet include Doucet, Doucé, Dousset, Doussé, Doussée, Doussais, Doussay, Doulcet, Douchet, Doucete, Douget, Dougette and many more.

Early Notables of the Douchet family

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

Douchet Ranking

In France, the name Douchet is the 3,798^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Douchet family

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 Douchet 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 Douchet were Jean Doucet who settled in Carolina in 1695; Francis Douset, aged 60; who settled in Savannah in 1820; Francis Dousset, aged 32; who settled in Savannah in 1820..

Contemporary Notables of the name Douchet (post 1700) +

Jean Douchet (1929-2019), French film director, historian, film critic and teacher

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/