Doucet History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

Etymology of Doucet

What does the name Doucet mean?

The story of the name Doucet is a long and distinguished tale beginning in the French Province of Gascogne. Doucet was a name for a person of sweet, pleasant, or mild disposition as it is derived from the French word "douce," which directly translates to "fresh." Some sources also believe that it could be derived from the French word "doux," which means "soft." 1

Early Origins of the Doucet family

The surname Doucet was first found in Gascony (French: Gascogne), an area of southwest France bordering Spain, that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Germain Doucet is recorded as the first ancestor with the name Doucet to arrive in Canada. He arrived at La Heve, Acadia in the year of 1632. In July 1640 his name is seen again as Captain of Pentagouet. Germain received war honours and awards and he returned to France in 1654. Germain had two children that remained in Acadia, one of which was Pierre, who is recorded as the ancestor of all the Canadian Doucet. 2

Early History of the Doucet family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Doucet research. Another 221 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1272, 1273, 1308, 1459, 1670, 1724, 1750, 1766 and 1789 are included under the topic Early Doucet History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Doucet Spelling Variations

Changes of spelling have occurred in most surnames. The earliest explanation is that during the early development of the French language, names were not yet fixed in spelling. Usually a person gave his version of his name, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. This depended on accent, and local accents frequently changed the spelling of a name. Some variables were adopted by different branches of the family name. Hence, there are some spelling variations of the name Doucet, including Doucet, Doucé, Dousset, Doussé, Doussée, Doussais, Doussay, Doulcet, Douchet, Doucete, Douget, Dougette and many more.

Early Notables of the Doucet family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Gérard de Doucet, Bishop of Tarbes

Doucet World Ranking

In the United States, the name Doucet is the 5,502^nd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 3 However, in Canada, the name Doucet is ranked the 278^th most popular surname with an estimated 15,323 people with that name. 4 And in Quebec, Canada, the name Doucet is the 202^nd popular surname. 5 France ranks Doucet as 396^th with 10,727 people. 6

Doucet migration to the United States +

Migration from France to New France or Quebec as it was now more popularly called, continued from France until it fell in 1759. 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 the treaty of Utrecht, the Acadians were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. In 1793, the remaining French in these provinces came under British rule. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Doucet were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Doucet were

Doucet Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jean Doucet who settled in Carolina in 1695

Doucet Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Ann Doucet, who landed in Massachusetts in 1755 7
Francois Doucet, who landed in South Carolina in 1755 7
Jeremie Doucet, who arrived in South Carolina in 1755 7
Benoni Doucet, who arrived in South Carolina in 1755 7
Pierre Doucet, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1755-1768 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Doucet migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Doucet Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Mrs. Germain Doucet, who arrived in Acadia in 1636
Jean Doucet, who landed in Canada in 1646
Jean Doucet, who arrived in Canada in 1646
Louis Doucet, son of Pierre and Henriette, who married Marguerite Girouard, daughter of Germain and Marie, in Acadia in 1695 8

Doucet Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mathieu Doucet, son of Pierre and Henriette, who married Anne Paure, daughter of Julien and Anne, in Port-Royal, Quebec on 25th June 1712 8
Jean Doucet, son of Bernard and Madeleine, who married Françoise Bourget, daughte of Claude and Marie, in Quebec on 10th April 1714 8
Pierre Doucet, son of Laurent and Jeanne, who married Élisabeth Sylvestre, daughter of Nicolas and Barbe, in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec on 3rd Febraury 1716 8
Jean Doucet, son of Bernard and Madeleine, who married Catherine Prieur, daughter of Joseph and Hélène, in Quebec on 27th October 1726 8
Jean Doucet, son of Jean and Jeanne, who married Marie-Thérèse Dchesne, daughter of André and Marie-Anne, in Quebec on 11th October 1742 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Doucet (post 1700) +

Lionel J. Doucet, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for New Hampshire State House of Representatives from Manchester 13th Ward, 1938 9
Amy Doucet, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 2012 9
Michael Doucet (b. 1951), American Cajun fiddler, singer and songwriter
Pierre Doucet, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 10
Jacques Doucet (1853-1929), French fashion designer
Joseph André Doucet (1880-1963), Canadian politician, Member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1923-1956
Gerald Joseph Doucet (1937-2017), Canadian politician and lobbyist, MLA for Richmond in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1963 to 1974
Jean Alfred "Fred" Doucet (b. 1939), Canadian lobbyist, educator, university administrator, and political aide
Roger Doucet CM (1919-1981), Canadian tenor best known for singing the Canadian national anthem, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1980

Citations +

Dauzat, Albert, Morlet, Marie-Thérèse, Dictionaire Étymologique des Noms et Prénoms de France. Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1987. Print.
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
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
Internoscia, Arthur E., and Claire Chevrier. Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760. Vol. 1, Institut Drouin, 1958.
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, September 15) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 24) Pierre Doucet. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html