The following article from the CD-ROM "In Search of Our Acadian Roots" has been translated and is reproduced here with thanks to Claude Perrault and the Societe Genealogique Canadienne-Francaise.
Where did the variations of a name come from? v
A1. The spelling of names in Canada, from the discovery of Jacques Cartier, in 1534, and in the two centuries following, was not fixed (or stable). We could add that this was also true for part of the 19th Century.
A1. At the time, few people were literate. In fact, you can discover in almost every parish register, this phrase: "ils ont declare ne savoir signer et ils ont fait leur marque ordinaire, c'est a dire, une croix" (they have declared not knowing how to sign and made an ordinary mark, that is to say, a cross (or "X").).
A2. Because people pronounced their names differently, depending on the region they originated from.
A3. Because in the registers, the officiating ministers indicated the name that they were "told", or those that they heard pronounced. In both cases, they wrote the name their own way and according to their knowledge of French.
A4. Because some ministers were careless and did not attach too much importance to the registration they were making, be it for baptisms, marriages, or sepultures.
Example: Claude Bussot dit Lacouture had 19 children baptized at Lavaltrie. The name of his wife varies at nearly every one of these baptisms!
Why does the variation of a name go all the way to its total transformation, for different reasons?
A1. The location of the residence, with names such as: Des Rochers, Des Ruisseaux, Des Peres, Durivage, Du chesne, Du mont, Du pont, La valle, La montagne, La riviere, etc.
Examples:
Houde; became Desrochers
Trottier; became Desruisseaux
Couillard; became Despres
Estienne; became Durivage
Guret; became Dumont
Perrault; became Duchesnes
A2. The place of origin, with names like Tourangeau, Poitevin, Champagne, Picard, d'Anjou, Saintonge, Provenal, Bourguignon, Languedoc, etc.
Examples:
Barbeau; became Poitevin
Danis; became Tourangeau
Prillard; Bourguignon
Aubin; became St-Onge
Lacoste; became Languedoc
Foran/Faran/Pharand; became Vivarias
A3. The occupation practiced; such as miller, blacksmith, well-man (in charge of a "well"), ferry-man (who would transport people, goods and livestock in his ferry), baker, stone carrier, harvester, tanner (selling or working with animal hides), spoon-maker, trader in salt, tailor, etc.
Examples:
miller -> meunier; became Dumoulin
blacksmith -> forgeron; became Laforge
well-man -> puisatier; became Dupuis
baker -> boulanger; became Ptrin
ferry-man -> traversier; became Latraverse
stone-transporter -> transporteur de pierre; became Chartier
nail-maker -> clou=nail; became Cloutier
bread-maker -> four=oven; became Fournier
harvester/reaper -> moissonneur; became Mtivier
worker in hides -> travailleur de peaux; became Pelletier
spoon-maker -> fabriquant de cuillers; became Cuillerier
trader in salt -> trafiquant sur le sel; became Saulnier
A4. The profession; such as lawyer, teacher, constable etc.
Examples:
lawyer -> procureur; became Bailly
teacher -> enseignant; became Lemaitre
constable/bailiff -> membre de la prvt; became Prevost
A5. By whim or fancy...and even grudge and mockery.
Examples:
Billeron; became LaFatigue
Rocan dit la ville; became Bastien
Ledoux; became Latreille
Seguin; became Ladroute
A6. Because of one's financial situation, military, or other. Examples:
Nicholas Boyer; became Nicholas Argentcourt
Perrault; became Chateauguay
A7. The shame of a personal past...or of one's relatives, after a crime had been committed...or, for any other reason judged sufficiently serious by the person involved, such as exercising the occupation of executioner.
Note: See Andre Lachance's volume on the executioners of New France, entitled "Le bourreau au Canada sous le Regime francais" (the executioner in Canada, under the French Regime), published by the Societe d'Histoire du Quebec, Cahiers d'Histoires vol. 18.
A8. For any other reason caused by euphonics or the difficulty of pronouncing a name.
Examples:
Cuvillon; became Quevillon
Delquel; became Dziel
How were some of the modifications of the names done by usage?
A1. By subtraction of certain letters.
Examples:
Houde; became Houd
Pelletier; became Peltier
Rivest; became Rivet
A2. By modification of the ending.
Examples:
Aur; became Auray
Leclerc; became Leclair
Perrot; became Perrault/Perreault etc.
A3. By the introduction of certain letters into the name:
Examples:
Houde; became Houlde
Hunault; became Henau
Chalifou; became Chalifour
Guillon; became Guyon
A4. By the ommission of the first syllable:
Examples:
Thiboutot; became Boutot and Bouthat
A5. By another name meaning about the same thing:
Example #1:
Roquebrune; became Larocque (to express solidity, firmness, hardiness).
Example #2:
To use a factual case, let's take the one of Yolande CYR published in "Cahiers Gen-Histo" no. 1, on page 19. One notes in her lineage, that there is a Pierre CYR married on 6-11-1828 at Ste-Scholastique, to Julienne Larocque, daughter of Antoine and Genevieve Choret. If one looks for this last marriage under the name Larocque, it is not found! Because Antoine married under the name of Antoine de Rocbrune.
Another source of difficulty comes from variations (or the total changing) of the first name, as in the following examples:
1. At baptism, the person receives certain first names, where the last listed is usually the one by which he/she is known throughout his/her life....whereas, in France the opposite is customary!
2. At marriage (or death), if the person has been known throughout his/her life by a first name that does not appear among the ones given at baptism...and he/she marries or is buried under the "usual" name, this will of course, cause difficulties to his descendants and to the researchers.
Example: Wilfred Vzina married to Philomne Payette dite St-Amour.
Extract from the U.S. Census of 1820 for Madawaska
NOTE: This Census was taken by English-Americans who spoke and understood little (if any) French. The resultant Census shows that:
Alexis Thibodeau became Alevey Tebedore
Joseph became Joseph Markcue
Henri Tardif became Henri Turdey
Louis Ouellette became Lewis Willet
Joseph Sanfacon became Joseph Sanpeshow
Susan Thibodeau became Susan Tibedore
Beloni Martin became Belon Martin
Bartis Maurice became Bartis Morris
Charles Beaulieu became Charles Bolio
Since the above noted (right-hand side) is the _actual_ spelling as it appears in the old records, I think by now you must all have a better appreciation as to why researching Acadian/French names, is NOT always an easy task!
"Dit" Names
"Dit" in French means "say" and in this context, it means "called." In other words, a person might be Pierre Bourbeau dit Lacourse, which means that he had an ancestor named Bourbeau, but he chooses to use the name Lacourse instead. So he is Pierre Bourbeau called Lacourse.
People might take a dit name to distinguish their family from another family of the same name living nearby. Often it was a sort of nickname, often picked up during service as a soldier. Or it might refer to the place in France where the family originated. Sometimes it was the mother's surname, and sometimes the father's first name was used, either instead of the surname (for example, Hebert dit Emmanuel) or in addition to it (Jeanbard, Castonquay). In any case, very often the dit name was passed down to later generations, either in place of the original surname, or in addition to it.
Some of his children might then keep the original surname (e.g. Barbeau), and some might use the dit name (e.g. Lacourse). After a few generations, it's not uncommon to completely lose the memory of the original name, or to forget which was the original and which was the dit name. The best example of this is the Hudon dit Beaulieu family, where you will often find people listed as Beaulieu dit Hudon. You sometimes might find a name and its dit name hyphenated, as in Francois Hudon-Beaulieu. In fact, you can generally assume that a hyphenated surname (before 1950, anyway) is the surname plus dit name. Just remember that any Hudon might be the child of a Beaulieu and vice versa.
Some Variations/Derivatives of French surnames
Boucher = Bushey
Bouthillier = Butler
Duchanno = Duchesneau