Show ContentsTremblais History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The French name Tremblais first arose during the Medieval period in Normandy. It is derived from when the family having lived at Tremblay, in Normandy.

Early Origins of the Tremblais family

The surname Tremblais was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where the family held a family seat since early times.

Active in the conquest, they were awarded lands in England where their name became Trembles. Another branch moved to neighboring Flanders where they established themselves and gave their name to the land of Trembleur in the 1400's.

Interestingly, there are records of the family in Scotland in ancient times. "Walter de Trembley occupied the lands of Delany in the Mearns, 1263, and Robert de Tremblay witnessed a charter of lands in Fife by Sir Alexander de Moray, 1281. Robert de Tremblee who rendered homage in 1296 is probably Robert de Tremblay or Trembleye of Elgin en Moreve whose homage is recorded in the same year. " 1

By the 15th century the family again branched to Burgundy and settled in Geneva by 1620. Another branch was formed in Picardy, Bourgogne. One of the family's descendants was Abraham Trembley, who was a Swiss Naturalist during the 1700's and wrote "Mémoires pour sévir à l'histoire de polypes d'eau douce à bras en forme de cornes", in 1774.

Pierre Tremblay, son of Philibert and Jehanne (neé Coignet), was a farmer that arrived in Canada in 1647. Pierre married Ozanne-Jeanne Achon on 2nd October 1657. 2

Early History of the Tremblais family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tremblais research. Another 21 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1577 and 1638 are included under the topic Early Tremblais History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tremblais 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 Tremblais, including Tremblay, Tremblai, Tremblaie, Tremblé, Tremblés, Tremblée, Tremblait, Tremblett, Tremblais, Tremblaies, Tremley and many more.

Early Notables of the Tremblais family

Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Tremblais Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Tremblais family

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 Tremblais 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 Tremblais were Corney Trembley settled in America in 1764; Jacques Tremblay settled in Québec in 1756; Ulrique Tremblay settled in Québec in 1815; Louis Tremblay settled in Qué.



  1. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  2. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print


Houseofnames.com on Facebook