Gautreau History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The Gautreau name comes from that Medieval landscape of southern France known as Languedoc. The name Gautreau was originally derived from the family having lived in Languedoc, where the family was found since the early Middle Ages.

Early Origins of the Gautreau family

The surname Gautreau was first found in Languedoc, where they are recorded as one of the distinguished ancient families of that region.

The Cot or Côté family were well educated and learned people and there are many instances in the records of this. The Les Cot family of Limoges developed one of the first printing methods, with hot lead type, which they took to Paris in the 1600's. Pierre was an author of a book on the origins of printing in 1707.

Jean Pierre Cote, a noted poet, was born in Briancon in 1810. Jean-Leopold left on his death a "Dictionnaire de la législation des états sardes" in 1841. Jean André de Cot, descended from the Tournon branch of the family and, born in Briancon in 1789, campaigned against the war of the Empire, and his son Alexis was the owner of the "Journal de Tournon".

Jean Côté settled in Quebec in 1634 and married Anne Martin on 17th November 1635. Together they had five sons that carried on the family name of Côté. Jean was buried in Quebec on 28th March 1661. 1

Early History of the Gautreau family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gautreau research. Another 175 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1472, 1530, 1532, 1539, 1540, 1543, 1549, 1564, 1575, 1589, 1595, 1604, 1613, 1626, 1656, 1681 and 1735 are included under the topic Early Gautreau History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gautreau Spelling Variations

French surnames were subject to numerous alterations in spelling because of the various cultural groups that inhabited specific regions. Eventually, each region possessed its own local dialect of the French language. The early development of the French language, however, was also influenced by other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heavily from the Italian language during the Renaissance. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Gautreau is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Côté, Cot, Cotte, Cott, Kott, Kote, Cotée, Cotet, Cotin, Coton, Cottet, Cottin, Cotton, Cotard, Cottard, Lacotte, Cotté, Cottu, Cottarel, Cottebrune, Cotner, Cottez and many more.

Early Notables of the Gautreau family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Claude Cot, Treasurer of Dauphiné in 1472; Pierre Coton (1564-1626), a French Jesuit and royal confessor; Charles Cotin or Abbé Cotin (1604-1681), a French abbé, philosopher and poet; and Robert de Cotte (1656-1735), a French architect-administrator.Gaspard Coste, chorister in the cathedral of Avignon about...
Another 53 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gautreau Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gautreau Ranking

In the United States, the name Gautreau is the 14,318^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2 However, in France, the name Gautreau is ranked the 3,178^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. 3

Gautreau 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 Gautreau 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 Gautreau were

Gautreau Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Pierre Gautreau, aged 18, who landed in America, in 1917
Ernestine Gautreau, aged 27, who immigrated to America from Paris, France, in 1921

Gautreau migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gautreau Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Pierre Gautreau, aged 58, who landed in St Pierre and Miquelon in 1767

Contemporary Notables of the name Gautreau (post 1700) +

Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau (1859-1915), American-born, French Parisian socialite known for her beauty
Walter Paul "Doc" Gautreau (1901-1970), American Major League Baseball player, manager and scout
Paul N. Gautreau, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from California 38th District, 1996 4
Amedee Gautreau, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1940 4

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/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html