Gendry History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

Etymology of Gendry

What does the name Gendry mean?

From the historical and enchanting region of France emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Gendry family. Originally, the French people were known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted in France is extremely interesting. Surnames evolved during the Middle Ages when people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Often they adopted names that were derived from nicknames. Gendry is a nickname type of surname for a person who has inherited his family estates from his father-in-law, deriving its origin from the Old French word "gendre," which meant "son-in-law."

Early Origins of the Gendry family

The surname Gendry was first found in Maine where they held a family seat at De Tendron, a seigneurie in the department of Cher in the arrondissement of Sainte-Amand-Mont-Rond. By the 14th century this prestigious family had moved north to Brittany (French: Bretagne). They leant their name to the seigneurie of Gendronnière and La Croix in that same region where they held considerable estates. They also acquired business interests in Holland.

Nicolas Gendron, born in 1634, son of Pierre and Marie (née Renault), travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After settling in Quebec he married Marie-Marthe Hubert, born in 1642, daughter of Toussaint and Catherine (née Champagne), on 19th February 1656. Together they had eight children, six sons and two daughters, and they remained in Quebec together until Nicolas passed away at Sainte-Famille on 16th January 1671. 1

Early History of the Gendry family

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

Gendry Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gendron, Gendrot, Gendreau, Le Gendron, Legendron, Le Gendreau and many more.

Early Notables of the Gendry family

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

Gendry Ranking

France, the name Gendry is the 7,311^st most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Gendry family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Nicolas Gendron who arrived in Quebec from Aunis, a port of embarkation on the west coast of France; and later Pierre Gendron sailed from the same port and settled in Quebec in 1663.

Sources +

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/