Merlet History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

The surname Merlet is a name whose history dates back to the Middle Ages. It was a Norman name for a someone who bore a fancied resemblance to a blackbird having derived from the Old French word merle, meaning blackbird.

Early Origins of the Merlet family

The surname Merlet was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where this ancient family was established in early times.

The family was admitted to the honors of the Court in 1776, and again in 1789. Pierre-Hughes-Victor Merle was a general, who entered into the nobility in 1809; Jean-François Merlet was a counsel of the Conseil d'État, who entered into the nobility in 1810, and Jean-Joseph Merle was a colonel, who received his title to nobility in 1811.

Guy du Merle was an officer of the Legion of Honour and a lieutenant-commander, and he married Marcelle de Prat in 1907. Jean du Merle was a Contractual Engineer of water and forests, and Marguerite du Merle, a nun, was the secretary of the Mother Superior of Sacré Coeur in Rome.

Early History of the Merlet family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Merlet research. Another 166 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1050, 1302, 1306, 1509, 1560, 1562, 1575, 1731, 1798, 1810 and 1845 are included under the topic Early Merlet History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Merlet 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 Merlet include Marleau, Marleaux, Marlaud, Marlault, Marlet, Marlette, Marlod, Marlot, Marlotte, Marle, Merle, Merleau, Merleaux, Merlaud, Merlault, Merlet, Merlette, Merlod, Merlot, Merlotte, du Merle, Marlout, Marloux, Merlout and many more.

Early Notables of the Merlet family

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

Merlet Ranking

In France, the name Merlet is the 1,027^th most popular surname with an estimated 5,206 people with that name. 1

Merlet 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 Merlet 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 Merlet were

Merlet Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Hardoin Merlet, who landed in New York in 1798 2

Merlet migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Merlet Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Mr. Jacques Merlet, French settler travelling to Canada for work arriving on 3rd September 1642 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Merlet (post 1700) +

Charles C. Merlet, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Hartford; Elected 1946 4

Citations +

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)
Debien, Gabriel. Liste Des Engagés Pour Le Canada Au XVIIe Siècle. Vol. 6, Laval University, 1952. (Retreived 24th May 2018). Retrieved from https://lebloguedeguyperron.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/130-liste-des-contrats-dengagement-pour-la-nouvelle-france-releves-a-la-rochelle-entre-1634-et-1679/
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html