Show ContentsLengenais History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Lengenais family's name is derived from that coastal landscape of Medieval France known as Normandy. Their name originated with an early member who was a Norman resident of English extraction. The name Langlois refers to the Angles, a race who once inhabited England, and after whom the country is named. Rendered l'Anglais in modern French, the name essentially means "the English". 1

Early Origins of the Lengenais family

The surname Lengenais was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where this distinguished family held a family seat at Motteville, and were members of the aristocracy of that region.

Noel Langlois, born in 1606, was a fisherman and pilot from France that settled in Beauport, Quebec in 1634. He married Françoise Garnier on 25th July 1634 and together they had ten children. After the death of his first wife he married Marie Crevet on 27th July 1666. He died in Beauport on 15th July 1684. Noel is recorded as the first ancestor of the Langlois family. 2

Early History of the Lengenais family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lengenais research. Another 72 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1668 is included under the topic Early Lengenais History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lengenais Spelling Variations

History has changed the spelling of most surnames. During the early development of the French language in the Middle Ages, a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there spelling variations of the name Lengenais, some of which include Langlois, Langloi, Langlais, Langlo, Langloys, Langois, L'Angloi, L'Anglais, L'Anglo, L'Angloys, L'Angloi, L'Anglois, Anglois, Angloi, Anglais, Anglo, Angloy and many more.

Early Notables of the Lengenais family

Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lengenais Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Lengenais family

In the 1700s, land incentives were finally given out by France to 2,000 migrants. 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, Acadia 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 Lengenais were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Lengenais were Noël Langlois arrived in Quebec in 1634 from Normandy, he was one of the earliest settlers in Quebec; Jean-Baptiste Langlois (1668), Nicholas Langlois (1671), and Jacques Langois (1680), all arrived in Quebec from Normandy.



  1. Dionne, N.-E., Origine Des Familles Canadiennes-Français. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. Print.
  2. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print


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