Charette History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

Etymology of Charette

What does the name Charette mean?

The name Charette is an ancient French name that was given to a person from Brittany who was a cart driver. Tracing the origin of the name further, we found the name Charette was derived from the Old French word "charetier," which means "carter."

Early Origins of the Charette family

The surname Charette was first found in Brittany, where this illustrious family was anciently seated.

At the end of the 14th century, the family settled in the region of Nantes. Louis de Charette, the marquis of La Gacherie, was born in Nantes in 1712 and died in 1787. Louis-François Charette, the lord of La Colinière, a nephew to Louis, was born in 1739. Several branches of the family were also formed in other regions. The branch Charest was established in Poitou, in a village of Vienne, in the district of Poitiers. The members of the branch Charette branched to a village in the department of Isère, in the district of La-Tour-du-Pin.

Etienne Charest, born in 1631, son of Pierre and Renée (née Merle), arrived in Canada from Sainte-Radégonde, France. He married Catherine Bisson on 27th November 1670. Etienne passed away in Lévis, Quebec but he left many descendents. 1

Early History of the Charette family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Charette research. The years 1763, 1796, 1832, 1848 and 1911 are included under the topic Early Charette History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Charette Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Charette, including Charest, Charrest, Charet, Charret, Charets, Charrets, Charette, Charrette, Charettes, Charrettes, Charais, Charrais and many more.

Early Notables of the Charette family

Notable amongst this name at this time was

François Athanase de Charette de la Contrie (1763-1796) a Franco-Breton Royalist soldier and politician. He served in the French Navy during the American Revolutionary War and was one of the leaders o...
Athanase-Charles-Marin de Charette de la Contrie, was a politician, who was born at the chateau La Trémissière in 1796, and who died in 1848; and his son, Athanase-Charles-Marie de Charette de la Cont...

Charette World Ranking

In the United States, the name Charette is the 6,188^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Charette is ranked the 432^nd most popular surname with an estimated 10,898 people with that name. 3 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Charette is the 186^th popular surname. 4

Charette migration to the United States +

By 1643 there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Since immigration was slow, early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Charette has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Charette were

Charette Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Leonie P. Charette, aged 21, arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Agamemnon" from Brest, France 5
Edward R. Charette, aged 49, arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Rotterdam" from Boulogne-Sur-Mer, France 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Charette (post 1700) +

William Richard Charette (1932-2012), American Medal of Honor recipient for his actions during the Korean War
Richard R. Charette, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Maine 2nd District, 1986 6
Baron Athanase Charles Marie Charette de la Contrie (1832-1911), French royalist military commander
François Athanase de Charette (1763-1796), French Royalist soldier and politician
Hervé de Charette (b. 1938), French centre-right politician
Pierre Charette (b. 1955), nicknamed "The Duffer", Canadian curler who has played in thirteen briers
Joseph Jacques Mario Charette, Canadian medical assistant serving with the Canadian Airborne Regiment who was awarded the Medal of Bravery after disarming a Somali mob in 1993
Janice Charette, Canadian public servant, Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet (2014-)
Manon Charette (1955-2006), Canadian Olympic handball player at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Benoît Charette (b. 1976), Canadian politician, MNA for Deux-Montagnes (2014-)
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sources +

Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"The first 1,000 family names by rank, Quebec (in French only)" Institut de la statistique du Quebec, https://statistique.quebec.ca/en/document/family-names-in-quebec/tableau/the-first-1000-family-names-by-rank-quebec
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html