Origin of Surname
The derivation of this name is not known, but we have found nothing to support J Bertrand Payne's suggestion that its origins are in Switzerland. It may be long-established locally, meaning guardian or warden. There were two families in Jersey bearing this name. In St Brelade the name took the form Le Goupil dit Guerdain, which is long-extinct, but gave its name to L`Ile au Guerdain, now called Janvrin`s Tomb, in Portelet Bay, which is overlooked by their earlier home, now Portelet Inn. The other family, named Guerdain, lived in the northern parishes, especially in Trinity, from at least the early-16th century. Both families, however, might well share an identical origin, in which case they will indeed be long-established.
It is not found in Normandy today but Guérin, which is very common there, may be an alternative spelling. If so, the name probably derives from the earlier forename Warin.
Early records
Payne's suggestion, see below, that the family arrived in the 17th century is contradicted by the appearance of four Guerdains in the Jersey Chantry Certificate of 1550 - Deonys, Michel and two Perryns. A tree can be traced back to Nicholas Guerdain, born in Trinity about 1516, and possibly a century earlier (see below).
Variations of the name can be found on record in Jersey as early as the beginning of the 14th century.
And genealogist the Rev J A Messervy disputes Payne's assertion that the Guerdains adhered to the Royalist cause, explaining that they were devout Parliamentarian partisans
Payne's Armorial of Jersey
Switzerland is traditionally assigned as the country whence this family emigrated to Jersey. Dr Denis Guerdain, probably the first settler in the island, was a firm adherent of the Royal Cause at the period of the Rebellion. Indeed, it was here that the ever spendthrift and careless Prince Charles, during his visit in 1646, fist battre de la monnaye, a la maison de Monsr Denis Guerdain a la Trinite, no doubt to defray expenses that even the enthusiastic and loyal Jerseymen refused to incur.
Another of its members married a member of the local family of Richardson, who having survived her husband, erected a monument to his memory in the Parish Church of Trinity, adorned with the arms of both families.
Variants
- Guerdain, 1668
- Le Guerdain 1607
- Gerdain 1528
- de Gurdyn 1309
- Guerden 1323-4
- Guerent, 1331
- Guerant, 1363
- Le Guerden
- Le Goupil dit Guerdain
Guerin was previously shown as a variant but it is a distinct family with its own page
Family records
Family trees
- Descendants of Nicholas Guerdain and Jeanette de Gruchy
- Descendants of Perrin Le Guerdain and Perrotte
Church records
- Guerdain baptisms in Jersey
- Guerdain marriages in Jersey (groom)
- Guerdain marriages in Jersey (bride)
- Guerdain burials in Jersey
Family history and biographies
- History of Guerdain family in Jersey
- Aaron Guerdain, physician and supporter of the Parliamentarians
- Denis Guerdain, brother of Aaron and also physician and supporter of the Parliamentarians
Family wills
This will created by a member of the Guerdain family is now held by Jersey Archive. By visiting the archive site and using the names, date and reference number shown here, it is possible to view a copy of each will. You will have to subscribe to the Archive's online service to do this. To find out more about this collection, which covers the period from 1663 to 1980, and how to search for your family's wills there, visit our Jersey wills page
- Marie Guerdain 3 February 1690 - D/Y/A/1
Family homes
- La Guerdainerie, Trinity
Places
- Ile au Guerdain (Janvrin's Tomb) in Portelet Bay
Tips
The church record links above will open in a new tab in your browser and generate the most up-to-date list of each set of records from our database. These lists replace earlier Family page baptism lists, which were not regularly updated. They have the added advantage that they produce a chronological listing for the family name in all parishes, so you do not have to search through A-Z indexes, parish by parish.
We have included some important spelling variants on some family pages, but it may be worth searching for records for a different spelling variant. Think of searching for variants with or without a prefix, such as Le or De. To search for further variants, or for any other family name, just click on the appropriate link below for the first letter of the family name, and a new tab will open, giving you the option to choose baptism, marriage or burial records. You will then see a list of available names for that type of record and you can select any name from that list. That will display all records of the chosen type for that family name, and you can narrow the search by adding a given name, selecting a parish or setting start and end dates in the form you will see above. You can also change the family name, or search for a partial name if you are not certain of the spelling
The records are displayed 30 to a page, but by selecting the yellow Wiki Table option at the top left of the page you can open a full, scrollable list. This list will either be displayed in a new tab or a pop-up window. You may have to edit the settings of your browser to allow pop-up windows for www.jerripediabmd.net. For the small number of family names for which a search generates more than 1,500 records you will have to refine your search (perhaps using start or end dates) to reduce the number of records found.
New records
Since August 2020 we have added several thousand new records from the registers of Roman Catholic, Methodist and other non-conformist churches. These will appear in date order within a general search of the records and are also individually searchable within the database search form
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