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Guerard History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Guerard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The prominent surname Guerard originated in France, a country which has been a dominant presence in world affairs for centuries. The earliest forms of hereditary surnames in France were the patronymic surnames, which are derived from the father's given name, and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the mother's given name. The patronyms were derived from a variety of given names that were of many different origins. As well as the names of the saints of the Christian Church, many of the most common French surnames are derived from personal names of Germanic origin. The name Guerard is derived from the Germanic personal name Gerhard, which means "brave spear".

Early Origins of the Guerard family

The surname Guerard was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France where this celebrated family held a family seat from ancient times.

The first member of this ancient family is recorded in the ancient archives as Guillaume Girard of la Magdelaine who was the Magistrate for the county of Charollais in 1325. The Girards were well established in the region of Bourgogne where members of this noble family were prominent citizens in the political arenas of the times. By 1370, members of the family held the title of Lord of Charollais, such as Etienne Girard of Perrecy.

As many members of this family held important positions in political and military fields, they were deeply affected by the French Revolution. Some important members at this time were: Jean François Girard, a Deputy for the Clergy at the Estates General in 1789; François Joseph Henri Girard, Secretary General at the Prefecture and a Legislator; Jean-Baptiste Girard, Count, Commander and Officer of the Legion of Honour, promoted to General of the Brigade in November, 1806, and who received the Cross of Saint-Louis from the Emperor; and Jean-Pierre Girard, who became General of the Brigade after being Chief of the 3rd Batallion, and was later made a member of the Legion of Honour and a Baron of the Empire. 1

Early History of the Guerard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Guerard research. Another 124 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1518, 1528, 1595, 1632, 1641, 1648 and 1715 are included under the topic Early Guerard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Guerard Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gerrard, Girard, Girarde, Girardeau, Girardin, Girart, Girars, Girardes, Jirard, Jirarde, Jirart, Jirars, Guérard, Guirard, Guirarde, Guirart, Guirars and many more.

Early Notables of the Guerard family

Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Guerard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Guerard Ranking

In Quebec, Canada, the name Guerard is the 849^th most popular surname. 2 However, in France, the name Guerard is ranked the 1,446^th most popular surname with an estimated 3,995 people with that name. 3

Guerard migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Guerard Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jacob Guerard, who landed in South Carolina in 1679 4
John Guerard, who landed in South Carolina in 1697 4
Peter Jacob Guerard, who arrived in South Carolina in 1697 4

Guerard Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Pierre Guerard, aged 26, who landed in Louisiana in 1719 4

Guerard migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Guerard Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Martin Guerard, son of Guillaume and Rachel, who married Marie Boête, daughter of Charles and Anne, in Quebec on 24th October 1667 5
Charles Guerard, son of Martin and Marie, who married Marie-Madeleine Chrétien, daughter of Vincent and Anne, in Sainte-Famille, Quebec on 4th February 1697 5

Guerard Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Charles Guerard, son of Charles and Marie-Madeleine, who married Marie-Madeleine Lepage, daughter of Louis and Sébastienne, in Saint-François-de-l'île-d'Orléans, Quebec on 13th April 1722 5
Alexis Guerard, son of Charles and Marie-Madeleine, who married Véron Martineau, daughter of Pierre and Marie, in Saint-François-de-l'île-d'Orléans, Quebec on 2nd September 1726 5
François Guerard, son of Charles and Marie-Madeleine, who married Marie-Josephte Lepage, daughter of Joseph and Claire, in Saint-François-de-l'île-d'Orléans, Quebec on 11th August 1727 5
Joseph Guerard, son of Charles and Marie-Madeleine, who married Marie-Geneviève Langlois, daughter of Jean and Madeleine, in Sainte-Foy, Quebec on 10th November 1738 5
Louis Guerard, son of Charles and Marie-Madeleine, who married Louise Jolin, daughter of Simon and Élisabeth, in Saint-François-de-l'île-d'Orléans, Quebec on 10th April 1752 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Guerard (post 1700) +

Albert Joseph Guerard (1914-2000), American Academy Award in Literature winning critic, novelist, and professor
Benjamin Guerard (1739-1788), American lawyer and politician, the 34th Governor of South Carolina from 1783 to 1785
Albert Léon Guérard (1880-1959), American scholar and author of Comparative Literature who taught at Stanford University
Michel Guérard (b. 1933), French chef, author, one of the founders of nouvelle cuisine
Daniel Guérard (b. 1974), Canadian retired professional NHL ice hockey player for the Ottawa Senators
Stéphane Guérard (b. 1968), Canadian retired professional NHL ice hockey player who played 34 games for the Quebec Nordiques
Johann Joseph Eugene von Guérard (1811-1901), Austrian-born Australian artist active from 1852 until 1882
Theodor von Guérard (1863-1943), German jurist and politician, Minister of Justice during the early 1930s

Citations +

Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.
"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
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.