Vaillancourt (Valencourt) is a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

of French origin, most commonly found in the province of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Brief family history

Spelling variations of the name include: Vaillant, Vailant, Vailland, Vailand, Le Vailland, Levailland, LeVaillant, Le Vaillant, Levaillant, Vaillancourt, Vaincourt, and Valencourt. The Vaillancourt name originates from the Northern French regions of

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

and

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. Ancestors of the family were seated at Gulis, and were important members of the

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

of the region. The origin of the Vaillancourt name can be traced back to the early

13th century The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCI) through December 31, 1300 (MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1220, an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

was built on land belonging to Guillaume D'Abberville on his property at Thum. The abbey was given the name "de Villencourt" in reference to the court of Count William of Ponthieu, held there from 1105 to 1126 A.D. In 1195, D'Abberville married Alice of France, the daughter of Louis VII, King of France. The new marriage gave his court considerable clout; however D'Abberville died within a year of the founding of the abbey. His heirs would eventually produce two kings of England:

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

and Edward II. The seat of the abbey was moved in 1662 to

Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...

, the capital of

Ponthieu Ponthieu (; ; ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville. History Ponthieu p ...

, for greater safety during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

. The name is

Anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

as ''Smart''. Robert Vaillancourt of Normandy, France, settled in Île d'Orléans, Quebec in 1666. He is thought to be one of the first with the family name to settle in the New World. Louis-Marie Valiant, another settler of North America, was part of an early wave of French settlers that arrived in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

in 1714.

Motto

''Je ne change point,'' which translates into English as: "I don't change my mind."

Notable Vaillancourts

* Brian Vaillancourt American Chef and Seafood Expert. Born 1971 * Annette M. Vaillancourt, Ph.D., America
Author
* Armand Vaillancourt, a Québécois sculptor, painter and performance artist * Audrey Vaillancourt, Canadian biathlete * Chris G. Vaillancourt, Canadian artist and poet * Claude Vaillancourt, Canadian lawyer, judge and politician * Cory Vaillancout, American author * Cyrille Vaillancourt, Canadian businessman and politician * Cyrille Émile Vaillancourt, Canadian physician and politician * Dorothy Jean Vaillancourt, Tasmanian woman identified 59 years after remains found on California cliff * Gilles Vaillancourt, mayor of the city of Laval, Quebec, Canada in 1989 * Henri Vaillancourt, subject of John McPhee's "The Survival of the Bark Canoe" * Judith Vaillancourt, co-founder and designer of Vaillancourt Folk Art * Michel Vaillancourt, Canadian show jumper * Pamela R. Vaillancourt, American food scientist and IFT Fellow * Paul Vaillancourt, Ontario's Strongest Man champion in 2009-11 & 2016 * Robert D. Vaillancourt, American oceanographer and educator * Sarah Vaillancourt, Canadian Olympics women's ice hockey player * Steve Vaillancourt (1951-2017), American politician * Dale Vaillancourt,Co founder and owner of Divine Swine Catering, Lakeville, Minnesota

References

{{Surname French-language surnames