Last
name common in the US and
Canada, but ironically, not France. The LeBlanc's left France in 1605 to settle in south Nova Scotia, called l'Acadie, where they are still found. In 1755, the British took
NS and exiled many of them, who sailed south, making stops along the Eastern US, leaving francophone communities from Maine to
Georgia. Most of them made the full journey to Louisiana and settled in and around the city of Lafayette, the heart of Cajun culture. They usually identify as Cajuns, which is
short for the French word for people from Acadie, "Acadiens," shortened to " 'Cadiens," to "Cajins", Anglicized as "Cajuns."
LeBlanc is a hard
name for Americans, as it uses two sounds that don't exist in English.
1. Unaccented letter "e" is very close to the "oo" sound in the word "look".
2. (Vowel)+(n/m) signals a nasal sound. "An" (similar to "en" and "on") makes a more rounded sound and feels to be coming from the front of the nose. Imagine the English word "on" in a nasal tone but don't close your mouth for the "n" sound.
So LeBlanc is pronounced L(oo, 1)BL(o,
2). Many LeBlanc's have given up getting others to say their
name correctly and use an Americanized version like "LeBl-on" or "LeBl-ah-
nc", which is
OK. Just never say "LeBlank." That's too far.
It is written with a capital "B" and no
space after "e," which causes headaches on legal docs if not entered the same everywhere. If you are copying it and there's a
space, it's best to ask the person if it's correct.
