- Dit Names
French surnames often contain a "dit name" (for example Rivard dit LaVigne). Since many of us are unfamiliar with dit names in our culture, questions on this subject are common. The short explanation is that dit names often denote a place of origin, a title, or military designation.
Dit names may seem confusing when researching
your family, but actually it can help in identifying the family structure.
Here is a brief outline of the different Rivard dit names.
| Thomas Rivard |
| Pierre Rivard |
| LaCoursiere | Feuilleverte |
| Lanouette | Bellefeuille |
 Lavigne |
Despres |
| Preville | Montendre |
| LaGlanderie | Maisonville |
| Dufresne |
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| Giasson |
The origins of these dit names are still unclear
in some cases. Here is the information gathered to this point, including
the first Rivard to use each dit name.
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| In the earliest documents of Trois-Rivieres, dating back to 1651, Nicolas Rivard was referred to with the title "Sieur de la Vigne". Nicolas, oldest son of Pierre Rivard, was the first of the family to arrive in New France in 1648. Nicolas' mother, Jeanne Mullard, owned a small piece of land in Tourouvre, named "Clos de La Vigne". This LaVigne location exits in Tourouvre to this day, where one of our cousins visited and kindly provided us with a picture of a local road sign. Nicolas' oldest son Nicolas and youngest son Antoine also used the dit name LaVigne, but the dit name was not routinely used after the first three generations. While most families in this line retained Rivard, we have recently discoverd numerous families in Quebec that dropped Rivard and kept Lavigne as the surname. Many of the Lavigne families were from the Nicolet area. |
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| Robert Rivard dit Loranger, younger son of Pierre-Nicolas, was the first to use the dit name Loranger. Variations also include Lorange and L'Orange. One source credits the origin of this name as being a supporter of William of Orange. However, in this case, the name would have been Lorangiste, rather than Loranger. Another hypothesis is that Robert was a redhead, hence the name Loranger (the orange one). Many descendants of the Loranger line dropped Rivard, keeping Loranger as the surname. |
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| Julien was the second son of Nicolas Rivard dit LaVigne. He was originally known as Julien Rivard, Sieur de la Glanderie. Although the origins of this dit name has not yet been confirmed, family historians offer two meanings. One is that it refers to the district or acreage of his property. LaGlanderie roughly translates as "acorn". The second possibility is a bit more appealing. In some early documents, this dit name was spelled La Galanterie, meaning gallantry. This line of the family retained the full name, Rivard dit LaGlanderie, until the early 20th century, when the dit name was dropped. |
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| The Dufresne dit name traces back to the wife of Julien Rivard dit LaGlanderie, Elisabeth Thunes dit Dufresne. Some of their children, both sons and daughters, added their mother's dit name to Rivard. This was done to distinguish themselves from the numerous other cousins of the LaGlanderie line living in the same area. Some of the descendants of the Dufresne line kept Rivard and dropped the "dit", while others retained Dufresne as the surname. |
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| The first note of this name is with Jean-Baptiste, son of Julien Rivard dit LaGlanderie & Catherine Gaillou and grandson of Julien Rivard dit LaGlanderie/Elisabeth Thunes. We currently have no information on the origin of this dit name. |
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| Francois, the third son of Nicolas Rivard dit LaVigne, adopted the dit name La Courciere from a "lieu-dit" in Perche, France. "Lieu-dit" (literally 'a place called') refers to a location known to the local population, but too small to be considered a city or town. This location still exist to this day. One of our cousins, Berchmans Lacoursiere, has brought back photographs of the La Courcière farm and the municipal name plate in Perche. Descendants of this family use both Rivard and LaCoursiere as the surname. |
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| Pierre was the fourth son of Nicolas Rivard dit Lavigne. Many of his descendants, who centered around Perade and Grondines, took Lanouette as the surname. Lanouette means a small prairie prone to flooding and good for grazing, a term used back in Perche. |
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| Jean, the sixth son of Nicolas Rivard dit Lavigne,
used the dit Preville. This name may refer to a location. Preville,
also known as Saint-Lambert, is adjacent to Montreal.
However, known locations for this family, based on the birth of their children and grandchildren, are at least 50 miles north of Preville. Until further information is found, the source of the Preville dit name is still a question to be answered. The Preville dit name appears to have been dropped after two generations. |
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We also encourage you to contact us at the Rivard Family Forum. |
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