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What are dit names
A "dit name" is an alias given to a family name. Compared to other alias or a.k.a. that are given to one specific person, the dit names will be given to many persons. It seems the usage exists almost only in France, New France and in Scotland where we find clans or septs.
I have a photocopy of a 1471 land record rented by my ancestor Barthelemy Hugon dit Jarret which is called Bartelemeo Hugonis alias Jarreti in this record and some others. There is another Jarret in the area at this time with another dit name, so we can say the dit name was given, in that case, to distinguish the 2 different families. Barthelemy was living in Dauphine, like many soldiers of Carignan Regiment who came here in 1665-1668. While they were not the only ones nor the first to use dit names in New France, it seems those soldiers are responsible for the great extent the dit names reached in Quebec compared to France, Acadia or Louisiana . This would explain, for example, why there is a concentration of families with dit names around Lac St-Pierre where seigneuries belonged often to retired officers from Carignan regiment (Vercheres, Sorel, Contrecoeur, etc. to name a few).
Among some reasons of dit names, we find:
Surname used in the army (can also be combined with another reason)
Place of origin (Breton, Langlois, Langevin, etc.)
Land owned or inhabited by an ancestor (Beauregard is an example)
The full name of the ancestor (Gaston Guay -> Gastonguay -> Castonguay)
The first name of an ancestor (Vincent, Robert, etc.)
Keeping the original name (in local language) during the process of standardizing names to French
Miscellaneous
How to deal with them
A generic person's name is built like this:
Joseph Jarret dit Beauregard
Joseph is the first name
Jarret is, in this case, the patronym or ancestral family name
Beauregard is, in this case, the dit name
After some generations, it is no more obvious what is the specific patronym or dit name, so we will find Beauregard dit Jarret. Moreover, it is also possible both family and dit names are switched the first time someone used a dit name.
In the records, dit names are actual alias, that is, they can be legally used to replace the original patronym. Because of this, one will find the same person known as:
Joseph Jarret
Joseph Beauregard
Joseph Jarret dit Beauregard
Joseph Beauregard dit Jarret
What this means? If you are looking for the marriage of a Joseph Beauregard married with Jeanne Joachim, you may find it as Joseph Jarret married with Jeanne Laverdure (a dit name for Joachim).
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