Picon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France

Etymology of Picon

What does the name Picon mean?

The Picon family name derives from the Old French personal name Picot, or Pigot. 1

Alternatively, the name could have been derived from the French word "piquet" which was a pointed stake or peg used militarily by the French Army c. 1695. Later the term pikemen was derived by the British Army in the mid 1700s.

Early Origins of the Picon family

The surname Picon was first found in Brittany where they held a family seat at Beauchesne, and as the line was the main stem of this aristocratic family which would emerge as Viscounts d'Vaulogé, it was there that branches were formed in Brittany, Maine and Austria. They were originally from Picot de Saio in Normandy and were recorded there in 1086. 2

Early History of the Picon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Picon research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1651, 1708, 1720, 1734, 1781, 1791, 1813 and 1862 are included under the topic Early Picon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Picon Spelling Variations

French surnames were subject to numerous spelling alterations depending on the region and time it was used. The early development of the French language relied heavily on borrowing elements and grammar from other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heavily from the Italian language during the Renaissance. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Picon is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Picot, Picott, Picotte, Pickot, Picout, Picoud, Picque, Picquet, Picquot and many more.

Early Notables of the Picon family

Notable amongst this name at this time was Eustache Picot (died 1651), a French musician and composer, sous-maître of the chapelle royale of Louis XIII. François Picquet (1708-1781) was a French Sulpician priest who emigrated to Montreal, Canada, in...
Another 39 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Picon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Picon Ranking

In France, the name Picon is the 9,140^th most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. 3

Picon migration to the United States +

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Migration was slow. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Picon has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Picon were

Picon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Martin Picon, who landed in America in 1814 4
Lucas Picon, who arrived in Guatemala in 1838 4

Picon migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 5

Picon Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Francisco Picon, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1835 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Picon (post 1700) +

Molly Picon (1898-1992), born Malka Opiekun, an American actress of stage, screen and television, best known for her role in Yidl Mitn Fidl (1936)
Dominic E. Picon, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 4th District, 1922 6
Charline Picon (b. 1984), French windsurfer, winning gold, silver and bronze at Olympic Games (2016, 2020, 2024)
Antoine Picon, French Professor of the History of Architecture and Technology and Co-Director of Doctoral Programs at the Harvard Graduate School of Design
Gaëtan Picon (1915-1976), French essayist and art critic

Citations +

Dionne, N.-E., Les Canadiens-Francais Origine Des Familles. Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 1969. Print
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html