Marcquis History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

Etymology of Marcquis

What does the name Marcquis mean?

The name Marcquis comes from the ancient culture of France. It was a Norman name for a nobleman who ranked just below the level of an Earl and is derived from the Old French word "Marquis," which signified this lofty position.

Early Origins of the Marcquis family

The surname Marcquis was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), in Pas-de-Calais in the arrondissement of Boulogne-sur-Mer, where they held a family seat since the very early times. They branched south in the 13th century when they held a family seat at Motte. By the 14th century they had moved to the Franche-Comté at Tallenay and were raised to the Seigniory. This family later branched to Brittany, Forez, Neufchatel and Morges. In Brittany and île-de-Saint-Dominique the spelling was Marques. Many of the settlers of that name who went to New France came from Normandy and Brittany (French: Bretagne).

Early History of the Marcquis family

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

Marcquis Spelling Variations

Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Marcquis, including Marquis, Marques, Marquise, Marquy, Marqui, Marcquis, Marquess, Marquese and many more.

Early Notables of the Marcquis family

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

Migration of the Marcquis family

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec, in 1663 there were only 500, 2,000 migrants arrived during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. 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. Migration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until it fell in 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 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many distinguished contributions have been made by members of this family name Marcquis. It has been prominent in the arts, religion, politics and culture in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Marcquis were Mrs. Marquis settled in New Orleans in 1822; Peter Marquis settled in Philadelphia in 1860; J. Marquese settled in New Orleans in 1822; P. Marquess settled in New Orleans in 1823..