Show ContentsBellivaux History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Bellivaux

What does the name Bellivaux mean?

The surname Bellivaux is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came. The name Bellivaux is a contraction of an Old French phrase meaning beautiful valley, and indicates that the original bearer lived in such a place at one time.

Early Origins of the Bellivaux family

The surname Bellivaux was first found in Burgundy (French: Bourgogne), an administrative and historical region of east-central France, where the family held a family seat from ancient times in the town of Volnay in the district of Beaune.

Jean de Vaux was registered in 1295 as a squire in the fief at Volnay and is thought to be the patriarch of the family. Large areas of land were exchanged at the hands of Jean de Vaux who sold much of the family lands at Antigny to the Duke of Burgundy.

Nicolas De Veau, son of Henri and Anne, travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in the province of Quebec he married Marie-Anne Tremblay, daughter of Jacques, at Ange-Gardien on 4th October 1769. 1

Early History of the Bellivaux family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bellivaux research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1555, 1666, 1669 and 1813 are included under the topic Early Bellivaux History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bellivaux Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Beliveau, Béliveau, Belivaux, Bélivaux, Belliveau, Bélliveau, Bellivaux, Béllivaux, Belleveau, Bellevaux, de Bellevau and many more.

Early Notables of the Bellivaux family

Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bellivaux Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Bellivaux migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bellivaux Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Charles Bellivaux, who sailed to Massachusetts in 1763 with his wife Jeanne, three sons, and two daughters
  • Charles Bellivaux, who sailed to Massachusetts in 1763 with his wife Margueritte, one son, and one daughter
  • Cherie Bellivaux, who landed in Massachusetts in 1763 2
  • Charle Bellivaux, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1763 2


  1. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


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