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Racine History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Racine History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

Of all the French names to come from that northwestern peninsula of France known as Brittany, Racine is one of the most ancient. The name is a result of the original family having lived in Brittany. The surname Racine was a also common occupational name for a grower of root vegetables. Interestingly, the name Racine was originally from the Old French word "racin," meaning "root."

Early Origins of the Racine family

The surname Racine was first found in Brittany (French: Bretagne) where they held a family seat in the seigneurie of Galisson, where they were members of the ancient aristocracy of that region.

Étienne Racine, born in 1607, son of René and Marie (née Loysel), travelled from Normandy to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Marguerite Martin, daughter of Abraham and Marguerite (née Langlois), on 22nd May 1638. They remained together in Quebec until Marguerite's death at Château-Richer on 25th November 1679. Étienne passed away at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré on 24th April 1689. 1

Early History of the Racine family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Racine research. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1639, 1692, 1699 and 1763 are included under the topic Early Racine History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Racine Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Racine, including Racine, Racinne, Racina, Racinna, Racineux, Racinet, Racinnet, Racineau, Racinneau, Racineu and many more.

Early Notables of the Racine family

Notable amongst this name at this time was

Jean Baptiste Racine (1639-1699), French dramatist

Racine World Ranking

In the United States, the name Racine is the 5,330^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Racine is ranked the 411^st most popular surname with an estimated 11,328 people with that name. 3 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Racine is the 173^rd popular surname. 4 France ranks Racine as 1,231^st with 4,554 people. 5

Racine 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 Racine 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 Racine were

Racine Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Charles and Peter Racine, who settled in New York State in 1775
Charles Racine, who landed in New York in 1798 6
Peter Racine, who arrived in New York in 1798 6

Racine Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Toussaint Racine, aged 31, who landed in Missouri in 1838 6
George Racine, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1848

Racine migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Racine Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Etienne Racine who arrived in Quebec in 1637 from Normandy
Étienne Racine, son of René and Marie, who married Marguerite Martin, daughter of Abraham and Marguerite, in Quebec on 22nd May 1638 7
Noel Racine, son of Étienne and Marguerite, who married Marguerite Gravelle, daughter of Massé-Joseph and Marguerite, in Château-Richer, Quebec on 12th September 1667 7
François Racine, son of Étienne and Marguerite, who married Marie Bauchet, daughter of Guillaume and Marie, in Sainte-Famille, Quebec on 29th October 1676 7
Pierre Racine, son of Étienne and Marguerite, who married Louise Guyon, daughter of Claude and Catherine, in Sainte-Famille, Quebec on 6th July 1682 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Racine Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Jean Racine, son of Noel and Marguerite, who married Marie-Anne De Lessard, daughter of Étienne and Marie, in Sainte-Anne, Quebec on 8th November 1701 7
Claude Racine, son of Étienne and Catherine, who married Geneviève Gagnon, daughter of Noel and Geneviève, in Château-Richer, Quebec on 25th February 1710 7
Pierre Racine, son of Pierre and Louise, who married Louise Levasseur, daughter of Noel and Marguerite, in Quebec on 22nd November 1712 7
Étienne Racine, son of Noel and Marguerite, who married Thérèse De Lessard, daughter of Étienne and Marie, in Sainte-Anne, Quebec on 20th November 1713 7
Étienne-Prisque Racine, son of Étienne and Catherine, who married Marie-Anne Gagnon, daughter of Pierre and Hélène, in Château-Richer, Quebec on 29th November 1724 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Racine (post 1700) +

Douglas A. Racine (b. 1952), American politician from Vermont
Douglas Racine, American Democratic Party politician, Lieutenant Governor of Vermont, 1997- 8
Bruno Racine (b. 1951), French civil servant and writer
Maurice "Moe The Toe" Racine (1937-2018), Canadian CFL placekicker and offensive lineman for the Ottawa Roughriders from Cornwall, Ontario, inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2014
Rober Racine (b. 1956), Canadian Governor-General’s Award recipient for for career excellence in the visual and media arts in 2015
Yves Racine (b. 1969), Canadian professional (NHL) ice hockey player
Damase Racine (1855-1921), Canadian merchant and politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario (1905-1921)
Dominique Racine (1828-1888), Canadian Roman Catholic priest, Bishop of Chicoutimi (1878-1888)
Antoine Racine (1822-1893), Canadian Roman Catholic priest, the 1st Bishop of Sherbrooke (1874-1893)
Jean-Paul Racine (b. 1928), Canadian politician, member of the Canadian House of Commons

Citations +

Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"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
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)
Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 2, Institut Drouin, 1958.
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html