Landry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Landry may refer to:

• Landry is a French town in the Savoie département
• Geoffroy IV de la Tour Landry (ca.1320-1391) was a French nobleman who compiled Livre pour l'enseignement de ses filles.
• Thomas Wade Landry (1924-2000) was an American football player and coach.
• Ali Landry (1973- ) is an American actress and model.
• Dan Landry, (1970- ) is an American volleyball player
• St. Landry, Bishop of Seez (Landericus)
• St. Landry of Paris (Landericus)
• Landry of Metz
• St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
• Landry's Restaurants is an American corporation that develops restaurants and hospitality projects from Houston, most well known as the operator for the Landry's Seafood House, Saltgrass Steakhouse, and Rainforest Cafe chains.
• Landry is a fictional little boy raccoon born on December 8, 1999 created by the Japanese toy company, Sanrio.
• Landry is a mythical object thought to have existed prior to the Norman invasion of the British Isles in 1066. Its powers were rumored to be that of healing, long life, and even immortality. In some versions of the myth, mostly from regions north of Hadrian’s wall and in parts of ancient Ireland, possessors of the Landry are reported to have the ability to see into the future and read minds. No known physical evidence exists, even though many archaeologists have staked their careers and reputations on elaborate excursions to locate and authenticate an artifact. Conventional wisdom amongst academic circles is that the object is a purely mythical creation that combines several well known aspects of older oral traditions circulating at the time. Any modern archaeologist attempting to find the Landry risks ridicule within professional circles akin to the search for Atlantis, the Fountain of Youth, the Holy Grail, or the Lost Ark of the Covenant.

• Bernard Landry, former Premier of Quebec.

• 'Landry The surname Landry, considered to be the second oldest name in France, is a name steeped in history, religion,and culture. Numbering among its members no less than three saints, the name has also lent its name to towns in France, Canada, and the United States.

It was not until the early Middle Ages that surnames were introduced to distinguish between numbers of people bearing the same personal or Christian name. With the growth in population, and in documentation necessitated by the expanding administrative machinery of medieval rulers, surnames became essential. Generally, these names fall into four categories:

• Location
• Patronymic
• Occupational
• Nickname origin

The French family name Landry falls into several categories. It is of patronymic origin, belonging to that category of names derived from the first name of the father or ancestor. In this case, the name simply denotes "the son of Landry", a popular personal name during the medieval period, early forms of which included Landri, and the regional variant Landry. Today in France, the name is also found in the forms of Landrin and Landron. The name is in fact, of ultimate Germanic origin, being derived from the old baptismal name "Land-rick", a composite name which signifies, literally, "land/country-powerful". It appears that is has also both occupational and characteristic origin. It is believed to be associated with "the officer who superintended the washing department".

Different spellings of the same original surname are a common occurrence. Dictionaries of surnames indicate probable spelling variations of Landry to be:

• Landre
• L'andre
• Landrey
• Landri
• Lendry
• Landro

It appears, however, that it is not known for certainy when the name was first recorded.

Although Landry is a common name in France, it is not found throughout France. Rather it seems to have been concentrated around three small villages, south of the town of Loudon, province of Poitou:

• LaChausee
• Martaize
• Aulnay

"I am given to understand that the Landry name is well known in the area around Loudun in Poitou (N. Bujold and M. Caillebeau, Les origines francaises des premieres familles acadiennes:le sud Loundais (Poitiers:Imprimeirie L'Union, 1979)p.32), but is rather hard to find elsewhere in France." [Professor Stephen A. White, Genealogist at the Universite De Moncton in New Brunswick]