Gendron is a French surname derived from the Old French gendre (son-in-law) with the diminutive suffix -on, meaning 'the young son-in-law' or 'the lad.' It may have been given to a man who was identified in his community as someone's son-in-law, or it may have been a general term for a young man of marriageable age. It is a characteristic surname of the Poitou and Anjou regions of western France, and was carried to New France by settlers from these regions.
Where the Gendron Name Is Found
PoitouAnjouNormandyQuebec
History and Origins
The Gendron surname developed in the Poitou and Anjou regions of western France during the medieval period. Poitou (modern Vienne and Deux-Sèvres departments) and Anjou (Maine-et-Loire) were important regions in the settlement of New France — they contributed a significant proportion of Quebec's founding generation, and the Gendron surname reflects this western French origin.
Gendron in New France
Philéas Gendron dit Bastonais is among the founding Gendron lines documented in the PRDH at the Université de Montréal. The Gendron family established itself in the Côte-de-Beaupré region and the Île d'Orléans east of Quebec City in the earliest colonial generation. The name spread through the St Lawrence valley and became one of the characteristic surnames of the Quebec City region.
Gendron and the Jesuits
The Jesuit missionaries who worked in New France included figures named Gendron — most notably Dr. Jean Gendron (fl. 1640s), a physician who came to New France and treated the indigenous peoples alongside the Jesuit mission. His presence gave the Gendron name an early association with medicine in New France, foreshadowing the many Gendron physicians and surgeons who would appear in Quebec's medical history.
The French Diaspora
Gendron is an established Quebec surname concentrated particularly in the Quebec City region and Côte-de-Beaupré. The PRDH at Université de Montréal and the Drouin Collection are primary resources. The Fichier Origine traces Quebec Gendron families primarily to Poitou and Anjou in western France.
From Quebec, Gendron families spread through the nineteenth-century French-Canadian emigration to New England — particularly Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In France, the name remains concentrated in the Poitou-Charentes and Pays de la Loire regions. The Gendron name is not common in Acadia or Louisiana, reflecting its specifically Quebec distribution rather than a broader Acadian pattern.
How to Research Gendron Ancestry
Gendron research in France should focus on Poitou — Archives de la Vienne in Poitiers and Archives des Deux-Sèvres in Niort — and Anjou (Archives de Maine-et-Loire in Angers). For Quebec, the PRDH at Université de Montréal is the primary source; the Fichier Origine traces Quebec Gendron families to their Poitevin and Angevin parishes. In New England, Catholic parish records in mill towns are the primary resource for nineteenth-century Gendron emigrants.
Notable Gendron Families
- Dr. Jean Gendron (fl. 1640s) — French physician who served in New France alongside the Jesuit missionaries, one of the earliest medical practitioners in the colony. His presence gave the Gendron name an early association with medicine in French Canada.
- Philéas Gendron dit Bastonais (fl. 17th century) — Founding Gendron settler in Quebec, documented in the PRDH. His descendants in the Côte-de-Beaupré became one of the foundational Gendron lines of French Canada.
- Marc Gendron (born 1944) — Quebec novelist, winner of the Governor General's Award for French-language fiction, one of the most significant contemporary bearers of the Gendron name in Quebec literature.
- Yves Gendron (born 1964) — Canadian academic, professor of accounting at Université Laval and distinguished researcher in the social dimensions of accounting. Representative of the Gendron name in contemporary Quebec academic life.
Related French Surnames
Often found in the same regions and emigration records: