French Names

Dit Names

In French Canada, dit (alias) names were often used. These are alternate family names used in place of the original family names.  Dit in French is a form of the word dire, which means "to say," and in the case of dit names is translated loosely as "that is to say," or "called." Also, because the people were primarily illiterate between 1600-1800, names were often mispelled in several ways (and misspelled).  Very few people could sign their own names.

Given Names

Alternate given names can also present problems. Each French Canadian child usually had several given names. Only one of the names was listed in the christening record. A different given name may have been used in later records. So Blanche may also have been called Louise, and Joseph may have been Ignace. Or a boy christened as Napoléon may have gone by Paul or Léon, and a girl named Marie des Anges may have prefered Angélique. Many times the same name is used
twice or recycled, so to speak. If a child dies young, the next child might be given the same name. One good thing is that the women always keep their family names and are easier to trace.

https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Quebec_Names,_Personal

Joseph and Mary

It was the practice among the French Catholics to honor Joseph, or Mary, by giving the baptized child the honorary name in addition to the given (first) name. [Joseph Marie is a boy and Marie Josephe is a girl, trust me.]

Popular Names:

The table below lists the most common first names among the some 400,000 individuals baptized before 1800:  [See http://www.genealogie.umontreal.ca/en/nomsPrenoms.htm] I think every one of our families has Jean Baptiste.

BOYS			GIRLS
Rank	First name	N	Rank	First name	N
1	Jean Baptiste	22 011	1	Marie Josèphe	18 807
2	Joseph	21 616	2	Marie Louise	13 115
3	Pierre	16 664	3	Marie Anne	11 060
4	François	13 088	4	Marie Marguerite	9 217
5	Louis	12 057	5	Marie Madeleine	8 812
6	Antoine	7 800	6	Marie Angélique	8 750
7	Charles	7 429	7	Marguerite	8 663
8	Michel	5 689	8	Marie	7 133
9	Jacques	5 627	9	Marie Geneviève	5 947
10	Augustin	3 790	10	Marie Françoise	5 695
11	Joseph Marie	3 612	11	Marie Catherine	5 594
12	Jean	3 599	12	Marie Charlotte	4 797
13	Étienne	3 098	13	Marie Thérèse	4 478
14	Alexis	2 500	14	Geneviève	4 074
15	André	2 204	15	Catherine	3 250
16	Nicolas	2 158	16	Marie Élisabeth	3 131
17	Jean François	2 054	17	Élisabeth	2 631
18	Paul	1 854	18	Angélique	2 399
19	François Xavier	1 782	19	Françoise	2 098
20	Ignace	1 701	20	Louise	2 048
21	Jean Marie	1 532	21	Marie Amable	1 982
22	Gabriel	1 531	22	Madeleine	1 765
23	Amable	1 443	23	Thérèse	1 745
24	Toussaint	1 020	24	Charlotte	1 686
25	Guillaume	995	25	Marie Archange	1 685