Origin
The family D’Amour originates in France. The French surname is derived from the medieval name Armor, which is derived from the Latin “armor” or “love”. The surname D’Amour was first found in the former Duchy of Normandy, France. A duchy is the territory of a duke or duchess; a dukedom.
France
The D’Amours family originated ln France, in Perche, and was found in the 15th (XVth) century in AnJou. The Parisian branch of the family seems to go back to Mathurin D’Amours husband of Marguerite de Bridée, he was Seigneur (lord) du Serrain in 1450. The fife and Seigneurie of Serrain, in the commune of Durtal in Anjou, was for many generations the principal home of the D’Amours family, who were established in Paris in the 15th century. In 1489 François D’Amours the son of Mathieu and of Marguerite de Bridée, was the chamberlain (the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure) to the King. The possession of the Seigneurie du Serrain, in the valley of the Loir, by the D’Amours goes back to one of the highest epochs (era) in the history of France. In 1457 the first Mathieu was dead, his widow Marguetite de Bridée, and her son François, the heir and inheritor of Serrain, made a present to the church of Durtal of the chapel of Montague, which they caused to be constructed.
Spelling
Spelling variations include: Amour, Amours, D’Amour, D’Amours, Damour, Damoure, St. Amour and St-Amour. The Colburn family is also connected as they are a variation of “d’Amours de Courberon and are also of French and French-Canadian descent. The name D’Amour is sometimes spelled with a lower case d (d’Amour) throughout history and the records
Beginning
The first mention of the name D’Amour in our lineage is of Mathurin D’Amours born between 1375 and 1376 in France and died between 1457 and 1458 in France. Alternate information has him living from 1400 to 1475. He was a husband of Marguerite de Bridée born between 1405 and 1406 in France and died in 1457. They had one son named Francois D’Amours who was born in 1455.
The family tree of the D’Amour lineage in our database starts with Mathurin D’Amours currently and my wife Lorna Groothedde-Leslie can trace herself directly back to him through her mother Marguerite D’Amour.
Organization
There is a organization of D’Amours at http://www.familles-damours.org/.
Coat of Arms
The D’Amours in France and French Canada were identified by the above Coat of Arms that bore, on a shield of silver, a porcupine in black with three nails of the cross that look like spearheads. Later a wild boar rampant replaced the porcupine and a red bar with three triangles was added across the top.
The French heraldry manuscript for the D’Amours is number 14486. The family coat of arms is also on display in the Archives of Quebec in Quebec City, Canada.
The crest of the D’Amour’s de Courcelles in Normandy differed slightly from the crest of the family that went to Paris, the D’Amours du Serrin.
In honour of their first Seigneur, Mathieu D’Amours (1618 to 1695), the city of Matane, in the province of Quebec, uses the D’Amours escutcheon as the official insignia of the community, but this time the boar has been changed to a beaver.
Because of the D’Amour, Colburn connection with DePere and Green Bay, Wisconsin, starting in 1717, a handsome carving of the family crest is on display at Heritage Hill Park located at 2640 S. Webster Ave. Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA 54301 heritagehillgb.org. This is a gift from Norman McCurdie.
Motto
“Firing up to Dying”
Fighting, striking, constantly fighting for beauty, goodness, truth, justice, faith, …
Images
Images of the D’Amour family can be found on our D’Amour images page.