Ouellet is among the most common surnames in Quebec, and like many French-Canadian surnames its origin traces to a small number of original immigrant families. The name derives from houlette — a shepherd's crook — and was originally an occupational surname for a shepherd or someone associated with shepherding.
The first Ouellet (or Houallet, as it was sometimes spelled) arrived in New France in the 17th century, and from these early settlers descend the tens of thousands of Ouellets now in Quebec, New Brunswick, and French-speaking communities across North America. The Ouellet family spread through the Beauce region of Quebec and into New England with the textile mill migrations of the 19th century.
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