| ![Show Contents]() Portal History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of PortalWhat does the name Portal mean? Noble surnames, such as Portal, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the French people. The original bearer of the name Portal, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of France. In France, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. The Portal family originally lived near a door or gate of particular interest, such as the gates to a fortified city or a unusually large or unique door. The name Portal is derived from the Old French words "la" and "porte," which mean "the" and "door" respectively. Early Origins of the Portal familyThe surname Portal was first found in Berry, a former province until 1790 when it became a region in central France where this distinguished family held a family seat in d'Ysserteux, and were members of the aristocratic families of the region. In the same region of Berry they also branched to Riants. The family moved north into Brittany at Kerduault, and to L'Estang and to Cree'Hanton in Brittany. They became the Barons de Vezins in that region. At Crozon in Brittany they became elevated to the nobility as the Comtes de Crozon. They also branched to Dauphiné to the south east, to Anjou (Vellade), to Perigord (Lubignac), and Theil in Poitou. They also branched south to Guyenne. The Marquis de la Porte eventually became the Comtes d'Hust and held a family seat in the west of France at Saintonge, Angoumois and Perigord. Jacques Laporte, born in 1621, travelled from Perche, France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Nicole Duchesne, born in 1641, at Montreal in 1657. 1 Early History of the Portal familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Portal research. The years 1602, 1664, 1675, 1704, 1741, 1749, 1768, 1773, 1782 and 1818 are included under the topic Early Portal History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Portal Spelling VariationsSpelling variations of this family name include: Laport, Laporte, De La Porte, LaPort, LaPorte, Laporter, Laportere, Laporterie, Lapotre, Port, Porte, Porter, Portere, Porterie, Potre and many more. Early Notables of the Portal familyCharles de La Porte (1602-1664), a French nobleman and general, Marquis and later Duke of La Meilleraye and Duke of Rethel; and Roland Laporte (1675-1704), a French Protestant (Camisard) leader, also known as Roland.
Jean-Pierre Duport (1741-1818) was a French cellist, born at Paris, Nov. 27, 1741. Considered the best pupil of Berthaut. Soon achieved a great reputation in Paris, but after 10 years of success started on a lengthened tour through England and Spain, and finally in 1773, on the invitation of Frederick the Great, settled at Berlin as first cello in the king's band, and after Frederick's death director of...
Another 136 words (10 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Portal Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Portal RankingFrance, the name Portal is the 915th most popular surname with an estimated 5,646 people with that name. 2
| Portal migration to the United States | + |
Portal Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Francisco Del Portal, who arrived in America in 1812 3
- I M Portal, aged 23, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1826 3
- Juan Portal, aged 44, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1829 3
| Portal migration to New Zealand | + |
Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include: Portal Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century- Mr. C. Portal, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Hydaspes" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 28th October 1868 4
| Contemporary Notables of the name Portal (post 1700) | + |
- Alex Portal (b. 2002), French Paralympic swimmer
- Alexia Portal, French actress best known for her role as Béatrice Romand's son's girlfriend in the 1998 film Autumn Tale
- Sir Gerald Portal (1858-1894), English diplomatist, born at Laverstoke, second son of Melville Portal of Laverstoke, Hampshire
- Abraham Portal (b. 1790), English dramatist, son of the clergyman Andrew Portal, a member of an ancient family of Huguenot origin, which migrated to England in 1686
- Justin Portal Welby (b. 1956), English cleric, the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury from 2013 - 2024
- Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
- 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)
- New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
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