Show ContentsL'abbe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Of all the French names to come from Normandy, L'abbe is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived in Normandy. Their name, however, indicates that the original bearer lived at or near an abbey. The word occurs in contraction with the article, le, meaning the, and thus appears Labbey.

Early Origins of the L'abbe family

The surname L'abbe was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where the family has been traced from ancient times.

Early History of the L'abbe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our L'abbe research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1526, 1566, 1607, 1610, 1650, 1662, 1667, 1669 and 1674 are included under the topic Early L'abbe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

L'abbe 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 L'abbe include Labbey, Labey, Labbé, L'Abbey, Labbie, Labie, L'Abbie, Labbee, Labee, L'Abbé, L'Abbée, Labbay, Labay, Labbai, Labai, Labaie, Labbais, Labadie, Labais, de Labbey, de Labey, de Labbay, de Labay, L'Abbaye, de l'Abbaye, Labaye, Labbaye, de Labbai, de Labai, de Labbais, de Labais, de la Bey, de la Bay and many more.

Early Notables of the L'abbe family

Notable amongst the family in this period was Louise Labbe, poet; and Philippe Labbe (1607-1667), a French Jesuit writer on historical, geographical and philological questions. Jean de Labadie (1610-1674) was a French...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early L'abbe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

L'abbe World Ranking

In the United States, the name L'abbe is the 3,970th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name L'abbe is ranked the 639th most popular surname with an estimated 8,122 people with that name. 2 And in Quebec, Canada, the name L'abbe is the 183rd popular surname. 3 France ranks L'abbe as 324th with 12,292 people. 4


L'abbe migration to the United States +

France finally gave land incentives for 2,000 migrants during the 1700s. Early marriage was encouraged in New France, and youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries, leaving French names scattered across the continent. The search for the Northwest passage continued. Migration from France to New France or Quebec, as it was now more popularly called, continued until 1759. 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 the treaty of Utrecht, the Acadians were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name L'abbe were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name L'abbe were

L'abbe Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Pierre Labbe, who settled in Louisiana in 1752
  • Joseph Labbe, who settled in Charles Town, South Carolina, in 1763-64

L'abbe migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

L'abbe Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century
  • Pierre Labbe, son of François and Marie, who married Catherine Besnard in Sainte-Famille, Quebec on 31st Juy 1672 5
  • Pierre Labbe, son of François and Marie, who married Marguerite Meusnier, daughter of Mathurin and Françoise, in Saite-Anne, Quebec on 10th April 1674 5
  • Louis Labbe, son of Thomas and Jeanne, who married Madeleine Lavergne, daughter of Laurent and Denise, in Montreal, Quebec on 27th November 1698 5
L'abbe Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Jacques Labbe, son of Pierre and Marguerite, who married Françoise Deblois, daughter of Jean and Françoise, in Sainte-Famille-de-l'île-d'Orléans, Quebec on 25th November 1709 5
  • Pierre Labbe, son of Pierre and Catherine, who married Reine Guerinet, daughter of François and Constance, in Saint-François-de-l'île-d'Orléans, Quebec on 16th June 1715 5
  • Jean Labbe, son of Pierre and Marguerite, who married Marie Lepage, daughter of Pierre and Madeleine-Marie, in Saint-François-de-l'île-d'Orléans, Quebec on 10th January 1724 5
  • Charles Labbe, son of Jacques and Françooise, who married Ursule Morin, daughter of Robert and Françoise, in Islet, Quebec on 8th November 1739 5
  • Jacques Labbe, son of Jacques and Françooise, who married Marie-Françoise Mercier, daughter of Pierre and Madeleine, in Bertheir, Quebec on 25th November 1743 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name L'abbe (post 1700) +

  • Richard Labbe (b. 1968), nicknamed Slugger Labbe, an American NASCAR crew chief
  • François Charles Labbé de Vouillers, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 6
  • Matthieu Labbé (b. 1985), French football midfielder
  • Léon Labbé (1832-1916), French surgeon and politician
  • Arnaud Labbe (b. 1976), French racing cyclist
  • Stephanie Lynn Marie Labbé (b. 1986), Canadian soccer goalkeeper
  • Carlos Labbé, Chilean novelist
  • Jean-François "J.F." Labbé (b. 1972), Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender
  • Joseph-Tancrède Labbé (1887-1956), Canadian politician, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec for Mégantic (1935-1939)
  • François Labbé (b. 1928), Canadian mass media owner, inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Broadcast Hall of Fame in 1998


The L'abbe Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Sine labe
Motto Translation: Without wavering


  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. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  5. Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 2, Institut Drouin, 1958.
  6. Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, March 25) François Labbé. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html


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