Show ContentsGarneau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Garneau family originally derived its surname from the seigneury of Garneau in the region of Poitou. In France, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names often denoted the proprietorship of a village or estate; in other instances they indicated where a person had moved from.

Early Origins of the Garneau family

The surname Garneau was first found in Poitou where they held a family seat in the honor of the seigneury of Garneau in the region of Saintonge in the diocese of Saintes in the parliament of Bordeaux.

Early History of the Garneau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Garneau research. Another 93 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Garneau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Garneau Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Garnaud, Garnault, Garneau, Garneault, Garineau, Garinaud, Garino, Garinois, Garinot, Garnot, Garnoux, Le Garnaud, Legarnaud, Le Garnault, Legarnault, Le Garneau and many more.

Early Notables of the Garneau family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

  • Garneau of Poitou

Garneau World Ranking

In the United States, the name Garneau is the 15,509th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name Garneau is ranked the 771st most popular surname with an estimated 6,956 people with that name. 2 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Garneau is the 335th popular surname. 3


Canada Garneau migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Garneau Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Louis Garneau, son of Pierre and Jeanne, who married Marie Mazoué, daughter of Etienne and Marie, in Quebec on 23rd July 1663 4
  • François Garneau, son of Louis and Marie, who married Louise Carreau, daughter of Louis and Jeanne, in L'Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 7th February 1689 4
  • Louis Garneau, son of Louis and Marie, who married Marie-Anne Huot, daughter of Mathurin and Marie, in L'Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 14th April 1692 4
  • Jean Garneau, son of Louis and Marie, who married Louise Huot, daughter of Mathurin and Marie, in L'Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 8th April 1698 4
Garneau Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Jacques Garneau, son of Louis and Marie, who married Angélique Trudel, daughter of Pierre and Françoise, in L'Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 6th October 1701 4
  • Louis Garneau, son of Louis and Marie, who married Catherine Soulard, daughter of Jean and Catherine, in Beauport, Quebec on 25th June 1705 4
  • Louis Garneau, son of Louis and Marie-Anne, who married Geneviève Vésinat, daughter of François and Marie, in L'Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 10th April 1714 4
  • François Garneau, son of François and Louise, who married Marie Quentin, daughter of Louis and Marie, in L'Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 7th November 1718 4
  • Pierre Garneau, son of Jacques and Angélique, who married Marie-Madeleine Huot, daughter of Jean and Madeleine, in L'Ange-Gardien, Quebec on 10th September 1726 4
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Garneau Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Harriet Garneau, who was on record in the 1871 census of Ontario, Canada

Contemporary Notables of the name Garneau (post 1700) +

  • Dustin Thomas Garneau (b. 1987), American Major League Baseball catcher from San Pedro, California who has played since 2015
  • Chris Garneau (b. 1982), American singer-songwriter
  • Richard Garneau CM CQ (1930-2013), Canadian sports journalist and writer in Quebec
  • François-Xavier Garneau (1809-1866), Quebec historian and poet, Garneau's three-volume "Histoire du Canada" described the early pioneering history of Canadian settlers, he was descended from an old French family from the diocese of Poitiers 5
  • Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau C.C., CD, Ph.D., F.C.A.S.I., MP (b. 1949), Canadian politician, former NASA astronaut, former President of the Canadian Space Agency from 2001 to 2006, Minister of Transport (2015-)
  • Louis Garneau OC, CQ (b. 1958), Canadian road racing and track cyclist and cyclewear manufacturer


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
  3. "The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
  4. Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
  5. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020


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