Leclerc Surname: Origin and Coat of Arms
What does Leclerc mean, and where does it come from? Here is a brief introduction.
Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the Leclerc coat of arms for you.
Origin of the Leclerc name
Leclerc means "the clerk", from Old French clerc, a man in minor religious orders and, by extension, anyone who could read and write. Clerks worked as scribes, notaries and administrators for lords and churches. The name is common across France and is one of the best-known French surnames in Quebec. The northern spelling Leclercq keeps the older final consonant.
Leclerc in France and Quebec
Leclerc, also written Le Clerc or LeClerc, is "the clerk": in medieval French a clerc was a cleric or anyone who could read and write, so the name could mark a scribe, a notary's assistant or a man in minor orders.
The surname has two strongholds. Forebears estimates roughly 37,000 bearers in France and 25,000 in Canada, where it ranks about 124th thanks to early settlers of New France. Quebec singer Félix Leclerc made it a household name there, while the naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, carried it into 18th-century science. The US Census of 2010 recorded a smaller 3,014 bearers.
Our historical archives hold much more on the Leclerc name: dates, names and records of early bearers.
This overview covers the Leclerc name in France. We also hold records of the name in other countries, such as Canada, Belgium and Switzerland; your full pack is researched for your family's country of origin.
Get your full Leclerc family history
The Leclerc name has moved, changed and survived for centuries. The full report tells that story in order: the first records, the regions where it took root and the bearers who carried it further.
Your full Leclerc pack adds the researched history, early records and migration. Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the Leclerc coat of arms for you.
Leclerc name FAQ
What does the Leclerc name mean?
The clerk. Common variants include Leclercq, Clerc, Leclair.
Where does the Leclerc surname come from?
It originates in France, and is also found in Canada, Belgium and Switzerland.
Is there a Leclerc coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals, not whole surnames, so there is no single Leclerc crest. Herald Lab paints a personalized Leclerc coat of arms based on historic heraldry.
What does Leclerc mean in French?
"The clerk": a literate man, a cleric or a scribe.
Is Leclerc a common name in Canada?
Yes. It is one of the many French surnames brought to New France and is well established in Quebec.
Further reading on Leclerc
Researching your ancestors? Our Leclerc family history and genealogy page lists the archives to use, and famous people named Leclerc introduces notable bearers.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: Albert Dauzat & Marie-Thérèse Morlet, Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de famille et prénoms de France; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford). Facts and figures: Forebears surname distribution (estimates); US Census Bureau, 2010 surname file; Wikipedia, "Leclerc (surname)". Forebears figures are modelled estimates, rounded.