Bédard
A French surname most likely derived from an old personal name or nickname form, long established in French Canada.
The #5,734 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 51,066 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Bédard is a French surname, and the spelling in older sources often appears without the accent as Bedard. The historical material here places it among French family names that likely grew from a medieval personal name or a nickname form rather than from a trade or place-name. The exact root is not fully certain from the excerpt alone, so it is best treated as a traditional French surname of uncertain precise formation.
History
The name is well known in French-speaking regions, especially in Quebec and other parts of French Canada, where it became established early and remains common. The 19th-century source excerpt associates it with French surname forms rather than English ones, which fits its Canadian French distribution. In modern usage, Bédard is one of the recognizable surnames of the Francophone world.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bédard is familiar enough in Quebec that many people recognize it immediately as a classic French-Canadian surname.
From the historical record
“Bedier, Bethery, Pader, Pathier, Pettier. (Ha/rd) Beadheard, Lib. Vit. — English Beddard — French Batard, Bedard, Patard, Petard. (Jfar, famous) Eng. Padmore, Patmore — French Bedmar, (Man) Badumon, Betmon, Lib. Vit. — English Badman, Beadman, Padman, Pattman. Dutch Betuman. {Rice, rich, powerful) Old Germ.…”
— The Teutonic Name-System applied to the family names of France, England and Germany