| ![Show Contents]() Petitpas History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of PetitpasWhat does the name Petitpas mean? From the historical and enchanting region of France emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Petitpas family. Originally, the French people were known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted in France is extremely interesting. Surnames evolved during the Middle Ages when people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Often they adopted names that were derived from nicknames. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The name Petitpas is a nickname type of surname for a person of small stature, having derived from the Old French word "petit," meaning, "small" or "little". 1 Early Origins of the Petitpas familyThe surname Petitpas was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France where this distinguished family held a family seat at Bressey, where Antoine Petit was a knight of arms in the year 1353. They were also seated at Lavaux. They were strongly associated with the region of Champagne on the northern border of Bourgogne in eastern France. The first record in Bourgogne is at the seigneurie of Villiers-Sur-Suize where they held a family seat several centuries before the 15th century. In the 15th century Guyot Petit was Lord of the manor of Chaumont and a Lieutenant in the government of Nogent. This main stem of the family eventually emerged as the Barons Mathault. It should be mentioned at this point that due to the Norman Conquest, some of the family emigrated to England, but not all.The source Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae lists "Ralph, William, Bernard, Herbert Parvus or le Petit, Normandy 1180-95" 1 which means that the name concurrently developed in England and Normandy at the same time. Early History of the Petitpas familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Petitpas research. Another 97 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1360, 1411, 1550, 1598, 1617, 1665, 1674, 1677, 1685, 1687, 1688, 1720 and 1750 are included under the topic Early Petitpas History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Petitpas Spelling VariationsSpelling variations of this family name include: Pettit, Petit, Petite, Petites, Pettitt, Petitt, Pessit, Du Pettit, Du Petitt, Du Petit, Le Petitt, Le Pettit and many more. Early Notables of the Petitpas familyJean Petit (Jehan Petit, John Parvus) (c. 1360-1411), a French theologian and professor in the University of Paris, is known for his public defense of a political killing as tyrannicide; Pierre Petit (1598-1677), French mathematician; and Pierre Petit (1617-1687), a French scholar, physician, poet and Latin writer...
Another 46 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Petitpas Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Petitpas RankingFrance, the name Petitpas is the 5,343rd most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 2
| Petitpas migration to the United States | + |
Petitpas Settlers in United States in the 20th Century- Helene Petitpas, aged 22, who arrived in America from Paris, France, in 1913
- Jules Victor Petitpas, aged 46, who arrived in America from Bordeaux, France, in 1917
- Louis Petitpas, aged 23, who arrived in America from Cherbourg, France, in 1918
- Valmer Petitpas, aged 19, who arrived in America, in 1921
| Contemporary Notables of the name Petitpas (post 1700) | + |
- Georges Petitpas (1931-1983), American expert in human resource management, eponym of The Georges Petitpas Memorial Award
- Stephen Petitpas (b. 1957), Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Big" Stephen Petitpas
- The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
- http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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