Deschamps is a French topographic surname meaning 'of the fields' — from the Old French preposition des (of, from) and champs (fields, open country). It was given to families who lived near or worked open agricultural land, and it became one of the widespread French surnames carried to New France during the colonisation of Quebec in the seventeenth century.
Where the Deschamps Name Is Found
Île-de-FranceChampagneNormandyQuebecOntario
History and Origins
Topographic surnames like Deschamps were assigned to families based on the landscape surrounding their home — in this case, the open fields (champs) characteristic of the agricultural plains of northern and central France. The name is found across the Île-de-France, Champagne, Normandy, and Picardy — the broad cereal-growing regions of northern France where open-field farming was the dominant agricultural system from the medieval period.
Deschamps in New France
The Deschamps name arrived in Quebec with the French colonists of the seventeenth century. Étienne Deschamps dit Moreau, a Norman settler, is among the founding Deschamps lines recorded in the PRDH (Programme de recherche en démographie historique) at the Université de Montréal. The name spread through the St Lawrence valley and the surrounding regions as French Canada grew through the colonial and post-Conquest eras.
The dit Name Tradition
Like many Quebec surnames, Deschamps appears in the dit tradition — secondary names added to distinguish branches of the same family. Deschamps dit Moreau, Deschamps dit Laviolette, and similar combinations appear in Quebec records, reflecting the rich system of family identification used in New France when many families shared the same surname.
The French Diaspora
Deschamps is a well-established Quebec surname with roots in the founding generation of New France. The PRDH at the Université de Montréal and the Drouin Collection are the primary resources for Quebec Deschamps genealogy. The Fichier Origine traces settlers to their French parishes of origin — primarily Norman and Île-de-France roots for most Quebec Deschamps families.
From Quebec, Deschamps families spread through the great French-Canadian emigration of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries — to New England manufacturing towns, Ontario, and throughout Canada. The name is also found in France in its original distribution across the agricultural north and centre of the country. It appears in a range of variant spellings in records — Deschamp, Duchamp, Duchamps — which should be searched alongside the standard form.
How to Research Deschamps Ancestry
Deschamps research in Quebec should use the PRDH at Université de Montréal and the Drouin Collection. Watch for the dit name tradition — Deschamps dit Moreau or Deschamps dit Laviolette — which may be how your ancestor is recorded. In France, focus on Normandy (Seine-Maritime, Eure) and Île-de-France (Seine-et-Marne) where the name is most concentrated. French civil registration (état civil) begins in 1792; earlier records are in departmental archives. The Fichier Origine links Quebec settlers to their French parishes of origin.
Notable Deschamps Families
- Étienne Deschamps dit Moreau (fl. 17th century) — Norman settler and founding Deschamps line in Quebec, recorded in the earliest PRDH registers. His descendants became one of the foundational Deschamps families of French Canada.
- Eustache Deschamps (c.1340–c.1407) — Medieval French poet, one of the most prolific writers of the 14th century, author of over 1,500 ballads and the first major work of French literary criticism, the 'Art de Dictier.' A towering figure of medieval French literature.
- Yvon Deschamps (born 1935) — Quebec comedian and playwright, one of the most beloved figures of Quebec popular culture. His monologues in joual (Quebec vernacular French) gave voice to working-class Quebec in the 1960s and 70s.
- Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) — Avant-garde French-American artist, one of the most influential figures in twentieth-century art. His name is a variant of Deschamps, reflecting the same topographic origin — 'of the fields.'
Related French Surnames
Often found in the same regions and emigration records: