Leonhart History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

Etymology of Leonhart

What does the name Leonhart mean?

The surname Leonhart originates in Gascogne, France, is where Leonhart was first used as a surname. Leonhart was derived from the personal name Leonard, which means "lion-bold," and indicating that the original bearer was thought to be as bold as a lion.

Early Origins of the Leonhart family

The surname Leonhart was first found in Gascony (French: Gascogne), an area of southwest France bordering Spain, that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution, where the family held a family seat since ancient times.

The members of the family also branched into other regions of France. In Burgundy they settled in De Léonardy, which was part of the bailiwick of Charolles in 1789. In Brittany the members of the branch Léon settled in Bourgerel, in Ourmeaux and in Trévéret, and they also became the counts of Crozon.

Julien Leonard, born in 1665, son of Jacques and Scholastique (née Gilles), was a French doctor that settled in Quebec in the 17th century. He married Barbe LeFrançois, daughter of Charles and Marie-Madeleine (née Triot), at Château-Richer on 13th October 1698. They remained together in Quebec until Barbe passed away on 1st August 1700. 1

Early History of the Leonhart family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Leonhart research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1611, 1654, 1655, 1656, 1657, 1658, 1663, 1671, 1713, 1744, 1766 and 1793 are included under the topic Early Leonhart History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leonhart Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Leonhart, including Léonard, Léonnard, Léonhard, Lénard, Liénard, Lenard, Lienard, Lionard, Lionhard, Léonart, Léonhart, Lénart, Liénart, Lionart, Lionhart, Lenart, Lienart, Léonardy, Léon, Léone, Léonne, Lion, Lione and many more.

Early Notables of the Leonhart family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Hugues de Lionne (1611-1671), a French statesman; and his son, Artus de Lionne (1655-1713), abbé and Bishop of Rosalie in partibus infidelium...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Leonhart Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Leonhart migration to the United States +

France was active as a cultural leader in the early 16th century. One particular area in which they lead was the exploration of the New World. The explorers, like Jacques Cartier in 1534, led the way to North America. Champlain, in 1608, made the first of twenty voyages to France to attract settlers and brought the first migrant in 1617. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec, and the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Leonhart has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Leonhart were

Leonhart Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jacob Leonhart, who settled in Philadelphia in 1741
Michael Leonhart, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1751 2

Leonhart Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Rudolph Leonhart, who landed in New York, NY in 1852 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Leonhart (post 1700) +

William Kempton Kahn Leonhart (1919-1997), American politician, U.S. Ambassador to Tanganyika, 1962-65; Yugoslavia, 1969 3
Sarah J. Leonhart, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Middletown, Delaware, 1912-13 (acting, 1912-13) 3
William Leonhart (b. 1919), American Ambassador to Tanzania (1962-1965) and to Yugoslavia (1969-1971)

Citations +

Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html