Show ContentsPaquette History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Paquette surname comes from the personal name Pasquet, which was a form of Pascal. The Old French word, "pacquet", meant "bundle of kindling", thus in some instances, the name may have originally been an occupational name for a gatherer or seller of firewood or kindling.

Early Origins of the Paquette family

The surname Paquette was first found in Limousin where they held a family seat in the seigneurie of Salaignac, and were members of the distinguished aristocracy of that region.

The family also moved across the border into Belgium in the province of Namur, and there the family flourished and were elevated to the nobility in 1770 as Lords or Seigneures, continuing to 1819, and as Barons in 1844, where they held a family seat at d'Acos. They also had domains in the region of d'Angoulème in Belgium. Meanwhile in France they branched to Dauphiné, Brittany, and to Lorraine where they became Seigneurs in 1708.

Isaac Paquet, son of Mathurin and Marie (née Fumillon), travelled from Poitou, France to Canada in the 17th century. He married Elisabeth Meunier on 30th June 1670 at Château-Richer, Quebec. Isaac passed away on 1702 and was buried at Saint-Laurent-de-l'ìle-d'Orléans, Quebec on 18th June 1702. 1

Early History of the Paquette family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Paquette research. The years 1529, 1767 and 1862 are included under the topic Early Paquette History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Paquette Spelling Variations

The many different spellings of French surnames can be partially explained by the use of local dialects and by the influence of other languages during the early development of the French language. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Paquette is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Pasquet, Paquet, Paquett, Paquette, Paquitt, Pacquet, Pacquett, Pacquette, Paquit, Paquitte, Paquotte, Paquott, Paquot, Pasquier, Pasquiet, Passaquet, Passquet and many more.

Early Notables of the Paquette family

Notable amongst the family was Étienne Pasquier (June 7, 1529 - September 1, 1615) was a French lawyer and man of letters. Later, the Baron and Duke Pasquier, (1767-1862) was a noted French politician. A Councillor in Parliament who was...
Another 40 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Paquette Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Paquette World Ranking

In the United States, the name Paquette is the 2,161st most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Paquette is ranked the 117th most popular surname with an estimated 25,779 people with that name. 3 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Paquette is the 17th popular surname. 4


Paquette migration to the United States +

Immigration to New France was slow; therefore, early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. 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. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Paquette has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Paquette were

Paquette Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Marie Paquette, aged 32, who settled in America, in 1903
  • Paul Paquette, aged 35, who landed in America, in 1903
  • Raymond Paquette, aged 18, who immigrated to America, in 1919
  • Emmanuel Paquette, aged 33, who landed in America from Paris, France, in 1919
  • Joaquim Paquette, aged 16, who immigrated to the United States, in 1919
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Paquette migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Paquette Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century
  • Elizabeth Paquette, aged 49, who settled in Montreal, Canada, in 1911
  • Harry Paquette, aged 34, who settled in Levis, Quebec, Canada, in 1921
  • Bertha Paquette, aged 37, who immigrated to Montreal, Canada, in 1923

Contemporary Notables of the name Paquette (post 1700) +

  • Leo Armand Paquette (b. 1934), American organic chemist, recipient of the Arthur P. Sloan Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship and Arthur C. Cope Award
  • Craig Paquette (b. 1969), American Major League Baseball player who played from 1993 to 2003 and won a silver medal at the 1999 Pan American Games for United States
  • David Paquette (b. 1950), American international Jazz pianist
  • Audra Paquette (b. 1981), American model, Miss New Hampshire (2005)
  • Yanick Paquette, Canadian four-time Shuster Award winning comics artist
  • Gilbert Paquette (b. 1942), Canadian politician, university professor, businessman and researcher
  • Benjamin "B.P." Paquette (b. 1975), Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and academic from London, Ontario
  • Robert Paquette (b. 1949), Canadian folk singer-songwriter from Sudbury, Ontario
  • Stéphane Paquette (b. 1973), Canadian singer-songwriter from Chelmsford, Ontario
  • Joseph-Henri-Albiny Paquette (1888-1978), Canadian politician and physician in Quebec
  • ... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
  4. "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


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