Origin
The Garneau family originally derived its surname from the seigneury of Garneau in the region of
Poitou. In France, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the
late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...
, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names often denoted the proprietorship of a village or estate; in other instances they indicated where a person had moved from.
The surname Garneau was first found in
Poitou where they held a family seat in the honor of the
seigneury
''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...
of Garneau in the region of
Saintonge
Saintonge may refer to:
*County of Saintonge, a historical province of France on the Atlantic coast
*Saintonge (region), a region of France corresponding to the historical province
Places
*Saint-Genis-de-Saintonge, a commune in the Charente-Mari ...
in the
diocese of Saintes
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...
in the
parliament of Bordeaux.
''Spelling variations include:'' Garnaud, Garnault, Garneau, Garneault, Garineau, Garinaud, Garino, Garinois, Garinot, Garnot, Garnoux, Le Garnaud, Legarnaud, Le Garnault, Legarnault, Le Garneau and many more.
Notable People
*
Chris Garneau, American singer-songwriter
*
Dustin Garneau
Dustin Thomas Garneau (born August 13, 1987) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros and ...
(born 1987), American baseball player
*
Francois Xavier Garneau, (1809–66) French Canadian historian
*
Marc Garneau
Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau (born February 23, 1949) is a Canadian politician, retired Royal Canadian Navy officer and former astronaut who served as a Cabinet minister from 2015 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal Par ...
, Canadian astronaut and politician
*
Louis Garneau
Louis Garneau (born August 9, 1958 in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada) is a retired competitive cyclist, artist, and businessman of French-Canadian descent.
In 1978, Garneau was the Canadian champion in individual pursuit cycling. In 1983, he fo ...
, Canadian cyclist
*
Richard Garneau (1930–2013), Canadian sports journalist and writer
References
{{Reflist