Top 12 French-Canadian Boys' Names in 2017
Let's look at the Top 12 boys' names in French-speaking Canada from a genealogy perspective. Where do they come from and what do they mean? How popular have they been over the years in New-France, Québec and Canada?
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Top 12 Boys’ Names in Québec
in 2017
Including their origins and meaning, taken from Guy Bouthillier’s Nos prénoms et leurs histoires
Scottish-Canadian photographer and businessman William Notman (self-portrait)
#1: William
This given name comes from Guillaume, of which William is the Anglo-Saxon form. William is a name of Germanic origin, from will, meaning "will", and helm, meaning "protection" or "helmet". In the 19th century, William was the most popular name among Anglo-Protestants in Québec, with 14% of boys named William! The name was also popular with the Irish. Some French-speaking Quebecers also adopted it at that time, but William was still rather rare as a first name among them. William's popularity gained momentum in the last 20 years of the 20th century. Since the year 2000, it has taken the top spot in Québec among boys’ first names.
#2: Logan
The name Logan is a surname of Celtic origin, meaning "little hollow" in Scottish Gaelic. In turn, the Logan name probably derives from a place in Scotland near Auchinleck, Ayrshire. The unisex name Logan became popular in English- and French-speaking Canada only about 10 years ago.
#3: Liam
The given name Liam has several origins. The first comes from Hebrew and means "the people for me". The second is Germanic, derived from will, meaning "will", and helm, meaning "protection" or "helmet". The last possible origin of Liam has Anglo-Saxon roots, a contraction of the first name William.
Noah’s Ark (circa 1675 painting by Französischer Meister, Wikipedia Commons).
#4: Noah
The first name Noah has two possible origins. The first comes from the Hebrew nûah, meaning "to rest" or naham, meaning "to comfort". The second origin comes from Arabic and means "rest". It is popular as a first name in Québec only since the 21st century.
#5: Jacob
The given name Jacob comes from the Hebrew Ya'akov, meaning "the one whom God favours". While the name Jacques (derived from Jacob) is common since the time of New France, it is only since the 1980s that the name Jacob appears in French-Canada and is among the most popular for boys.
#6: Thomas
The first name Thomas is a Biblical name. Originally, Thomas comes from Aramaic, meaning "twin". Popular in England for centuries, the first name Thomas first appeared in the United States, and then in English Canada. In 19th century Montreal, more than 5% of Protestant men had this name, and more than 7% of Irish Catholics. In France, the surname Thomas existed for a long time, but it was not the case with the first name Thomas. It appears in large numbers only in the 19th century. Here, the name Thomas was well represented in New France, but its use decreased in the last century. Then, in the 1990s, especially with the nickname Tommy, Thomas makes a comeback as a first name.
“Portrait of a Youth”, likely self portrait by Italian painter and architect Raphael in 1514 (Wikimedia Commons)
#7: Raphael
The given name Raphael is a Hebrew name. It derives from the words repha and el which mean respectively "to heal" and "God". Looking at both words, Raphael then takes the meaning of "God heals". It has been popular as a first name since the 1980s in Québec and has been gaining momentum in the last 20 years.
#8: Nathan
Nathan is a first name of Hebrew origin derived from Nathana'el meaning "gave". The meaning of the first name in Jewish culture could therefore mean "he gave" or "he will give". The number of Nathans in Québec has been increasing since the 1980s, reaching its peak in 2012.
Léo Major, the only Canadian soldier to ever receive the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) twice in separate wars (1944 photo (photographer unknown), Wikipedia Commons).
#9: Léo
Exact transcription of the Latin leo, the lion, symbol of strength, which was Frenchified to Léon. This name was well known in medieval England, but mostly in Jewish families - which seems to be the case in the United States today. In France, the name Léon was used in the Middle Ages as well, then again in the 19th century. In New France, there were only about a hundred people named Léon. In the 19th century in Québec, nearly 1% of men are called Léon. Towards the middle of the following century, Léon disappears almost completely, and Léo replaces him.
#10: Alexis
The given name Alexis is of Greek origin. It comes from the name Alexandros and the verb alexein which means "protect" or "repel". Unlike in France, the name Alexis was relatively popular in New France. After that, it declined in use until the 20th century. Since 1997, Alexis has been among the most popular male names in Québec.
Émile “Butch” Bouchard, hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens from 1941 to 1956 (1945 photo by Conrad Poirier, Wikipedia Commons).
#11: Émile
The first name Emile is of Latin origin and is considered a variant of the ancient name Aemilius. In France, this name was not given until the 17th century, while in England it hardly existed. Émile does not appear in New France records and does not come into use in Québec until the middle of the 19th century.
#12: Édouard
The first name Édouard, or Edward, is composed of two Germanic words: Ead meaning "goods" or "riches", and weard, meaning "guardian". In short, this first name means "guardian of wealth". Given its origin in Anglo-Saxon England, it is interesting to note that Edward is one of the few names from the English soil that have spread elsewhere. It occupied a modest place in New France and became very common in the 1800s in both French- and English-speaking Québec. It disappeared almost completely around 1940 and reappeared at the end of the 20th century.
Sources:
Guy Bouthillier, Nos prénoms et leurs histoires : les prénoms masculins du Québec (Montréal, Québec : Les Éditions de l'Homme, 2010), 270 pages.
Roberto Rocha, “Comment Guillaume est devenu William, l’évolution des prénoms au Québec depuis 1980”, Ici Radio-Canada (https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/special/2017/05/prenoms-populaires-quebec-tendance/ : accessed 14 Feb 2019).
“Les 10 prénoms les plus populaires au Québec en 2017”, PrénomsQuébec.ca (https://www.prenomsquebec.ca/ : accessed 14 Feb 2019).
NotreFamille, online database on first names and their origins (https://www.prenoms.com/ : accessed 14 Feb 2019).
magic maman famili, online database on first names and their origins (http://prenoms.famili.fr/ : accessed 14 Feb 2019).