Genealogy

The origin of our surname

The patronym Labrecque, Labrèque is typically Norman. It refers to a domain, a breach in a given place, or the nickname "brèche-dent" (tooth-breaker), the one who has lost one or more front teeth. (Source : genealogist Gérard Lebel)

Huguette Labrecque added: "That the name derives its origin from Briec, commune of the Finistère of Brittany. "Brèque" means rupture according to M. E. Dionne."

Sur le site de Geneanet, il est écrit : "The surname comes from Normandy, where we still find the patronym Labrèque. Designates the one who is originally from a place known as the "Brèque" (Breach: breaking in a hedge). It should also be noted, the hamlet of La Brèque in Harfleur located a few kilometers east of Le Havre".

Despite what Roland Jacob says in his book "Family Names in Quebec", the Labrecque surname is not a name "dit" or nickname, and the Labrecques have no connection with the Labrèche, who are descendants of Jean Delguel (Déziel) "dit" Labrèche.

Our surname in Québec

Today in Quebec, we find the patronyms Labrecque and Labrèque. For Labrèque, it was adopted by some descendants, including those of the notary Cyprien Labrèque and Alvine Vézina.

The discovery of this spelling in some ancient documents is probably responsible for this other way of writing the surname. For the rest of Canada, the patrony does not undergo any real change.

It should be noted that most of the ancestors, who could neither write nor read, handed over to the parish priests and notables for writing. We note, however, that there is a certain consistency in spelling in relation to other patronyms.

Distrbution of Labrecque in Québec

According to the Institut de la statistique du Québec, the surname LABRECQUE is 157th with 0.107% of the most common surnames in Québec. All types of Labrecque graphs can be found in these statistics because the names have been standardized, that is to say that the names which are pronounced in the same way are written according to the most frequent graph.

It is in Bellechasse that we find the most LABRECQUE in Québec. The Labrecque occupy the second place with 1.96% of its population.

Name, surname and patronymic terms

Since, in today's families, spouses and children may all have different names (Either father or mother, or both in the desired order), the expression surname is no longer indicated but continues to be used by tradition. The word patronym is sometimes used as a synonym for surname.

The family name was formerly called surname; Lapierre mentions that a decree of September 20, 1792, which brings about the secularization of civil status in France, has also "established the terms first and last name to replace names of baptism and nicknames" (1995: 23). Moreover, in English, we still use surname to translate "family name".

History of family name

Family names already existed among the Romans, but they disappeared with the decadence of the empire. In the European countries they reappeared between the 13th and the 17th centuries. In Catholic countries in particular, the Council of Trent (1545-1563) made them compulsory. The system of transmission of the surname was therefore well established in France when the first settlers arrived in Canada.

Note: The statistics were generated from the statistical birth registration files from 1986 to 2000, the names of 2.5 million parents of the 1.3 million children born during this period.

Our surname in France

In France, the most common form is Delabrecque. As for the Labrèque, it seems that the patronymic written in this form disappeared with the death of Sister Élise Labrèque in November 2006. She was the last survivor of the Labrèque family of the Courseulles-sur-Mer yards; We have not found until now any other French descendant bearing this surname with the same spelling. A cousin of the latter, Michel Suard, in a letter he sent in 1995, indicates that this family originates from ancestors of "de la Brecque". He adds: "They are also for some collateral: "la Brèche" or "de la Brèche".

Our surname in the United States

The emigration from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century to the United States will bring some changes to the patronym. onsequently, the pronunciation and accents of the different regions bring us its share of different spellings. The first ones managed to keep the surname Labrecque, which, with time, adjusted to the English spelling for the names in "la" and "the" in LaBreque.

We find:

• LaBrack, mostly from Massachusetts;
• LaBrake, especially in the state of New York;
• Labraque-LaBraque, of the State of New York;
• LaBrec, mostly from Midwest;
• Labreck-LaBreck, especially Maine and Massachusetts;
• Labrek, from Connecticut;
• Labrick, mostly from Maine;
• Labrique, from New Hamshire;
• Labrook, from Michigan and Washington State.