Hi: Someone asked how Boudrot became Boudreau. I don't have an exact answer but I suspect it came from a "phonetic guess-timation" of a priest or court clerk. If you look at some of the other names that have undergone the same changes such as Gautrot/Gautreau Thibodot/Thibodeau Theriot/Terreau Babinot/Babineau and others, that would have to be a common denominator. I started researching all the Boudreaus I could find in 1994 and when I ran across that, I tried to pinpoint it, but I kept finding the same person listed in the same book with the name spelled more than one way, so I just gave up. I currently have a file with over 41,000 Boudreaus and have compiled a list of 250 different spelling variations which is on our website at www.boudreauxfamily.org. That is a shining example of the ingenuity of people's phonetic guess-timating abilities. There is another exceptional example in that there is a winery in Bordeaux France that began in 1671 by the Boudreaux family. So the relationship of Boudrot-Boudreaux does have some connection in France, not just the Boudreaus came to Louisiana and became Boudreauxs Perhaps Mr. Stephen White would be able to more accurately pinpoint and identify where the Boudrot-Boudreau and other similar names changes started since he has access to such early documents on them. Don Boudreaux Lafayette, La.

In French, the ending "t" is silent and the "o" would be pronounced. The long "o" and "eau, eaux" have the same pronunciation. Stanley LeBlanc http://www.thecajuns.com -----Original Message----- From: Don Boudreaux [mailto:donboudreaux@earthlink.net] Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2003 6:00 AM To: ACADIAN-CAJUN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [ACADIAN-CAJUN] Boudrot-Boudreau variations Hi: Someone asked how Boudrot became Boudreau. I don't have an exact answer but I suspect it came from a "phonetic guess-timation" of a priest or court clerk. If you look at some of the other names that have undergone the same changes such as Gautrot/Gautreau Thibodot/Thibodeau Theriot/Terreau Babinot/Babineau and others, that would have to be a common denominator. I started researching all the Boudreaus I could find in 1994 and when I ran across that, I tried to pinpoint it, but I kept finding the same person listed in the same book with the name spelled more than one way, so I just gave up. I currently have a file with over 41,000 Boudreaus and have compiled a list of 250 different spelling variations which is on our website at www.boudreauxfamily.org. That is a shining example of the ingenuity of people's phonetic guess-timating abilities. There is another exceptional example in that there is a winery in Bordeaux France that began in 1671 by the Boudreaux family. So the relationship of Boudrot-Boudreaux does have some connection in France, not just the Boudreaus came to Louisiana and became Boudreauxs Perhaps Mr. Stephen White would be able to more accurately pinpoint and identify where the Boudrot-Boudreau and other similar names changes started since he has access to such early documents on them. Don Boudreaux Lafayette, La. ==== ACADIAN-CAJUN Mailing List ==== http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=topics.ethnic.acadian -cajun This is a link to the Acadian-Cajun Message Board at RootsWeb. ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

The existence of this winery prompts me to wonder if the original Boudreaux ancestors in France were not in fact a "Bordeaux" family (from the city of the same name) who had changed their name either to avoid confusion, or accidentally over time. For all we know, there could have even been a soldier whose military name was "dit deBordeaux" and whose descendants chose to use a variant. An interesting area for further research. Regards, Maurice http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=maurice_a_l ----- Message d'origine ----- De : Don Boudreaux À : ACADIAN-CAJUN-L@rootsweb.com Envoyé : samedi 8 novembre, 2003 07:00 Objet : [ACADIAN-CAJUN] Boudrot-Boudreau variations Hi: Someone asked how Boudrot became Boudreau. « SNIP SNIP SNIP » There is another exceptional example in that there is a winery in Bordeaux France that began in 1671 by the Boudreaux family. So the relationship of Boudrot-Boudreaux does have some connection in France, not just the Boudreaus came to Louisiana and became Boudreauxs Perhaps Mr. Stephen White would be able to more accurately pinpoint and identify where the Boudrot-Boudreau and other similar names changes started since he has access to such early documents on them. Don Boudreaux Lafayette, La. ______________________________