Soldier “dit” names

If you look at the names of soldiers in the French army you will notice that they contain a “dit” name. Once such example is Etienne Gourdon dit Vadeboncoeur. The use of this extra name has confused researchers and genealogists for a long time. I hope in this document to clear up some of the confusion surrounding the use of the dit name and how it has carried forward to modern times.

At the time of enlistment each soldier’s name and personal information was recorded in a folio. In addition to reporting personal facts (parent names, place of residence, etc) the soldier was required to pick a nom-de-guerre (or “war name”).

This new name was important for 2 reasons. Firstly, due to the repitition of common names in the companies (Joseph Lambert for instance) each soldier needed a unique reference. In modern days this is achieved by a serial number (thus the famous “name, rank, serial number” referred to in the movies). The French army, however, chose to create a unique name for each soldier. After enlistment this new name became their sole point of reference. Thus Etienne Gourdon, in effect, lost his surname while in the military and became Etienne Vadeboncoeur. In this case “dit” can be translated as “called” and thus the records refer to Etienne Gourdon “called” Vadeboncoeur.

No two soldiers in the same company could have the same “dit” name. Soldiers who passed from company to company risked the chance that the dit name they had chosen already existed in the destination company. In that case the incoming soldier was forced to change his dit name to a new, unique one. Transferring between companies was rare, except in the case of the Grenadier company which often drew its’ ranks from the best of the other companies. Reviewing the lists of the Grenadier companies you will often see a soldier listed as having enlisted in another company “sous le nom de …” or under the name of …

From the soldier’s perspective the name was important in that it became the sole reference while they were in the military. Being that they were able to pick the name they were able to inject a little personality into the choice. Generally, the soldiers picked their dit names from the following categories:

Names: Some soldiers would simply pick their existing last name as their dit name (Jean Valade dit Valade, Denis Antoine Caron dit Caron). This was very popular with Sergeants. Other soldiers chose their first name as their dit name (often adding “saint”) such as Andre Gachet dit Andre, Paul Berger dit Paul and Simon Menestres dit Saint Simon or Pierre Legrand dit Lapierre

Places: Other soldiers chose dit names that reflect the places from which they originate. This could include the city, parish or department. Pierre Roman dit Avignon (often written as d’Avignon or Davignon), Guillaume Courtier dit Clermont, Andre Mathieu dit Lyonnois or Nicolas Antoine Luneville. Sometimes soldiers referred to famous landmarks that exist in their place of residence and took on such names as Lafontaine (the fountain), Desjardins (the gardens) or Lachapelle (the chapel). Names referring to places are of great assistance to genealogists who are searching for the sources of their ancestor. The clue that an ancestor came from Lyon, for instance, could be the one factor in finding the next step in bringing the line another generation back. Note that –ois was a common suffix for “from” thus Lyonnois (from Lyon), Viverois (from Viviers) and Comtois (from Comte).

Flowers, Trees: I must admit that the reason for this one still eludes me….however, a LOT of soldiers chose dit names that reflect nature. Latulippe (the Tulip), Laviolette (the violet) and Larose (the Rose).

Personal characteristics: Also popular was picking a name that reflected the soldier’s personality. Sanschagrin (without sorrow), Sansfacon (informal), Sanssoucy (carefree) and Vadeboncoeur (goes-with-a-good-heart) are just a few examples.

Many soldiers married and remained in Canada after the war ended. Church and Census information shows that there is a mix of what names the soldiers and their families took on as time went on. Looking at marriage and birth records in Canada you can see that for many years the family is still referred to with the dit name recorded. Generations could go by where the family was still referred to with the dit name. Other soldiers simply reverted back to their original surname.

Anyone who has done Canadian genealogy is familiar with those people who simply reverted to the dit name as a surname. Thus the family of Etienne Gourdon dit Vadeboncoeur may have simply gone forward with the surname “Vadeboncoeur”. Lafleur and Vadeboncoeur are probably the two most popular surnames that still carry forth in Canada that are derived not from the actual family name, but rather the whimsicle choice of a single soldier who pulled the name out of the air at the time of his enlistment.

The following is a list of the 50 most popular dit names chosen amongst the troops in descending popularity:

VADEBONCOEUR

JOLICOEUR

LAVIOLETTE

LAJEUNESSE

SANSSOUCY

SANSCHAGRIN

LADOUCEUR

BEAUSOLEIL

FRANCOEUR

ST JEAN

ST PIERRE

LATULIPPE

LABONTE

LAJOYE

SANSREGRET

JOLIBOIS

LAFLEUR

LAGIROFLEE

LALIBERTE

BEAUSEJOUR

BRIN D'AMOUR

ST FRANCOIS

ST LOUIS

PRETABOIRE

SANSFACON

BLONDIN

LAROSE

SANSQUARTIER

BELLEROSE

L'EVEILLE

LAFEUILLADE

ST ANTOINE

ST MARTIN

LACOUTURE

LAROZE

BELHUMEUR

ST JOSEPH

LAGRANDEUR

ST ETIENNE

BELAIR

COMTOIS

LAFORME

LALANCETTE

LANGUEDOC

DAUPHINE

ST LAURENT

DESLAURIER

DIVERTISSANT

LAFONTAINE

LATENDRESSE

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