Other nicknames betray the military past of the family's founder. For a substantial period during which no official efforts were made to attract new colonists, most of the new settlers in Acadia were former soldiers whose years of service were sufficient to permit their retirement and mariage to local girls,. In the case of Berrier dit Machefer, Bonnevie dit Beaumont, Creysac dit Toulouse, Garceau dit Tranchemontagne, La Lande dit Bonapetit, Léger dit La Rozette, Marchand dit Poitiers, and a few others, documentary evidence of military service exists. In the case of several others, including Lebert dit Jolycoeur, Lord dit La Montagne, Mazerolle dit Saint-Louis, and Richard dit Sansoucy, the sort of nickname borne by the family bespeaks a military background, even in the absence of proof.
A relatively uncommon Christian name might also be perpetuated as a replacement for the original family name. Thus the Brasseurs were called Mathieu, the Caissys, Roger; the Henrys, Robert; and the Vigneaus, Maurice; from the given name of the first ancestor of each line. In other cases a branch of a large family might adopt the first name of the founder of the branch in place of the family name to distinguish itself from other branches of the same clan (Hébert dit Manuel, Pitre dit Marc, Vincent dit Clément), or the descendants of one family might employ their ancestor's given name in the same way to set themselves apart from another family with the same last name (Martin dit Barnabé).
Some nicknames reflect the ancestor's occupation. Thus the descendants of the blacksmith Thomas Sauvage came to be known as the Forgeron family, while those of the butcher André Simon called themselves Bouchers. In other cases the nickname was most likely suggested by the ancestor's occupation, but documentary evidence of the latter is lacking(Calvé and Guérin, both dit Laforge).
Over all, this list includes the names of families whose members occupied a wide spectrum of social and economic levels, from the upholders of justice (Boudrot, Desgoutins)down to those who appear to have come here to evade its execution (Denis, Mangeant dit Saint-Germain, Sauvage dit Forgeron, Serreau de Saint-Aubin).
THOSE WHO DISAPPEARED: Nearly three-fourths of the families whose names comprise this list did not reappear in Acadia after the Dispersion. Of these a certain number disappeared naturally, either because the couple in question had no surviving children at all (Gisé, Lambourt, Poupart, Racois, for example), or at least no surviving sons (Belou, Bézier, Flan, Forton, Gadrau, Gentil, Gouzille, LeJuge, and so forth). Others perished as a direct result of their deportation (Apart, Froiquingont, Oudy, Tillard), especially in group disasters, such as shipwrecks and epidemics. Other families saw their numbers drastically reduced in these tragedies, but were not entirely extinguished (Arcement, La Vache, Le Prieur).
Certain families survived and even flourished in the new Acadias into which they were eventually transplanted, but their names came to be found only in those areas, and may consequently appear to be somewhat alien to Acadians from other regions. Among the names that persist only among the Cajuns in Louisiana are Arcement, Gravois, Heusé (Usé), Hugon, Mouton and Naquin. Only in Québec does one find Fontaine, Garceau, Gourdeau, Grandmaison, Héon, Long, Lord, Lucas, Messaguay, Poitevin, Rousse, and Saindon. The Cloistre, Orillon dit Champagne, and Part families carry on in both Louisiana and Québec, but not in Acadia. Marcadet and Pugnant dit Destouches persisted in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon until the Napoleonic Wars. Even in Acadia itself certain families re-established themselves only in certain areas. The Bugeauds were thus only to be found on Chaleurs Bay. The Bastarache dit Basque family survived only in New Brunswick. the Bruns were almost exclusively in southeastern New Brunswick and northern Nova Scotia. The Caissys and the Guéguens became distinctly New Brunswick Acadians, too, although a few spread from there into other provinces. Many Acadians from New Brunswick think of Boutin, Forgeron, Marchand, Martel, and Samson as French Canadian names, and the Acadians of the first, fourth, and fifth families just named can indeed trace their ancestry back to Québec, but these are also the names of important Acadian families in southern Cape Breton, Amirault, (Mius) d'Entremont, and Moulaison are concentrated in western Nova Scotia, Corporon, DeCoste(formerly Coste), Poitier (or Pothier), and Trahan are also names that could only be found in Nova Scotia after the Dispersion. Similarly, mention of the Bernard, Buote, or Longuépée families in a genalogy necessarily means that the Acadians of Prince Edward Island must be involved in the lineage.
... A few families dropped out of sight because they apparently chose to remain in exile. The Bodard, Boisseau, and Célestin dit Bellemère families come to mind in this regard. Branches of some well-known, widespread Acadian families stayed in certain British American colonies, but they changed or modified their names. There were Acadians named Doiron, Dupuis, and LeBlanc in Maryland, but they became Gold, Wells, and White. In Pennsylvania, some Trahans became Strahans. Further south, in the Carolinas Lanoue became Lanneau, while Deschamps was transformed into Dishongh. Turcots who were refugees in Québec crossed over into New York where they changed to Tarkets. A Michel family in Connecticut began using the name Mitchell, and across the state line in Massachusetts Dugas changed to Dugar and Robichaud to Robertshaw. Three generations later innumerable name changes resulted from Acadian emigration to New England. In this second dispersion Benoit became Bennett; Bourg, Burke; Doiron, Durant; Fougère, Frazier; Hébert Hubert; Langlois, Langley; LeJeune, Young; Petitpas, Pitts; Pitre, Peters; Poirier, Perry; Roy, King; and Vigneau, Veno. Were it not for the emigration of his own great-grandfather, this writer would sign below LeBlanc, instead of White.
The list of Acadian family names provides the careful reader with some interesting and valuable insights into Acadian history. The small tragedies of normal human existence and the overwhelming tragedy of the Acadian Diaspora have left their marks on this list, to the extent that any present-day Acadian, from any area, will find but few familiar names here; the others were scattered to far off destinations, or destroyed altogether, through the dangers and hardships of the great trauma inflicted on our people.. In a way this list stands as a tribute and a monument to them. For after over two centuries we still strive to preserve the memory of those who suffered the loss of their property, their country, and even their lives, because of their loyalty to their ideals and faith."