Dirac Genealogy Familienforschung

Genealogy - Familienforschung - Généalogie

Dirac

Thairé, Charente-Maritime

The first Dirac we know about is Didier Dirac who was a sergeant in the French Army (regiment of Poitou) at the end of the 17th century. Since there is a village with the name of Dirac near Angoulème in the South of Poitou-Charente, one could suppose that there is a connection between the family name and this village. The Mayor of Dirac and an historian of the area are certain that there never was a person with the name of Dirac living in their village. We were told, however, that it was the habit in military circles in those times to call a man after the town of his origin. It could well be that Didier came from Dirac, was called Dirac during his military service, and kept the name after he moved on to Noyers-sur-Jabron (Basses-Alpes) and to Besançon (Doubs) where he died in 1723.

On 28 January 1715 Didier married Catherine Guilbaut (her name is Guilhabon on the 1721 birth certificate of her son Philippe, Guilgaud on her death certificate, Guilbon on the birth certificate of her granddaughter) in Sedan, Ardennes. In 1721 their son Philippe Dirac was born in Noyer-sur-Jabron (Basses-Alpes). He had a younger sister, Marie Dirac, who married Jean Claude Besançon in Besançon. Marie and Jean Claude had 7 children, 6 girls and 1 boy who died at age 10. We suppose that Didier and Catherine had more children but could not find proof of that so far.

After Didier's early death, his wife Catherine married Jean Hacardiau. We don't know if they had any children.

A document of 1745 proves that Philippe lived in Besançon with his mother Catherine for a while. He moved on to Thonon (Haute-Savoie) where his son Pierre-Louis was born in 1748. Later he lived in La Grave (Hautes Alpes) and finally settled down in St. Maurice, Valais before 1797. Most of Philippe Dirac's descendants still live in St. Maurice up to this day. Family members are found, however, all over Switzerland (Geneva, Basel, Zurich, Berne area), in England, the United States and in Denmark. The most famous member of the family is the physicist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac who was born in England and died in Florida.

With such a rare family name, genealogy is great fun. Almost all people with the name of Dirac we found during our research are related to us and fit perfectly well into our family tree. There are however a few exceptions:

Hugh Dirac, author of the novel "The Profit of Doom" (published in 1970). As we don't know anything about this person, every detail about him is greatly appreciated, please write us at:
We found entries about a Dirac Family on the French Island "La Réunion", Indian Ocean. First we thought these Diracs came after the French Revolution when the island was conquered by the French. We supposed they were retired soldiers or civil administrators. But then we discovered they were former slaves. The year of their enfranchise was 1848.
We have no idea who gave them the family name of Dirac. If you know anything about this Dirac Family, please contact us. Click here to read what we found out about them so far.
Thomas Dirac, born 1852, who was found as a baby on the doorstep of people in La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, France. He was called Dirac by chance by the authorities of the town. His name changed to Dyrac later. Thomas had five children: Gabrielle, Esther, Léopold, Edouard and Prosper. The only male descendant of these five children is Jean Dyrac, former Consul of France. He has one son, Serge Dyrac, and two grandsons (twins) Thomas and Romain Dyrac. - No relationship! But it was fun to correspond and exchange information with Thomas Dirac's descendants.

Les armoiries de Dirac

Dirac Coat of Arms

Dirac Familienwappen

Family Tree - 10 generations up to Jean-Patrick Dirac

1st generation	Didier Dirac + 1723 Besançon sergeant in the regiment of Poitou, France	oo	Catherine Guilbaut
2nd generation	Philippe Dirac * 8 Aug 1721 Noyers Noyers-sur-Jabron, Besançon, Thonon	oo	Guérine Prumaz
3rd generation	Pierre-Louis Dirac * 15 Jan 1748 Thonon settled in St. Maurice before 1797 + 1799	oo 1780	Andréanne Favre * Abondance + 1821
3 children	François 1782-1847, Patience, Claude Louis 1785-1864
4th generation	François Dirac * 27 Jan 1782 + 1847	oo 1807	Catherine Pignat * 1785 Vouvry + 1851
9 children	Louise, Louis-François 1810-1882, Marie Marguerite Catherine 1815, François 1817-1899, Anne-Marie Catherine 1819, Marie Joséphine 1824-1865, Louis Auguste 1828-1900 - St. Maurice Moreover there where two little girls, both with the name of Marie Patience who were born and died in 1812 and 1821.
5th generation	François Dirac * 28 Feb 1817 + 20 May 1899 St.M.	oo 11 Feb 1839 oo 24 Apr 1859	a) Marie-Catherine Heintz * 1817 - 25 May 1856 b) Marie Lorétan * 2 Jul 1832 St.M. + 31 Oct 1921 St.M.
11 children	with a) Catherine Henriette 1839 (died at birth), Catherine Antoinette 1840-1929, Marie Joséphine 1842, Louise Joséphine Mathilde 1843, Pierre Maurice 1845, Louise Rosalie 1846, Julie Louise 1848, Marie Catherine 1850, Joseph Henri 1853-1853 - St. Maurice with b) Marie Louise 1859-1949 and Henri 1864-1950 - St. Maurice
6th generation	Henri Dirac * 7 Apr 1864 St.M. + 8 Apr 1950 St.M.	oo 23 Mar 1904 Sierre	Julie Dennler * 14 Jan 1878 Sierre + 24 Sep 1951 St.M.
4 children	Marie-Antoinette 1904-1997, Henriette 1909-1977, Louise 1912-1978, François 1915-1982 - St. Maurice
7th generation	François Dirac * 9 Jun 1915 St.M. + 22 Apr 1982 St.M.	oo 1 Oct 1948 St .Maurice	Simone Martin * 2 Feb 1919 St.M.
3 children	Christian 1949, Henri 1950, Françoise 1954 - St. Maurice
8th generation	Christian Dirac * 25 Jul 1949 St. Maurice	oo 9 Feb 1974 Genève	Gisela Wahrenburg * 1 Dec 1951 Warburg, Germany
2 children	Nicolas 1975 - Geneva, Christophe 1979 - Horgen ZH
9th generation	Nicolas Dirac * 10 Dec 1975 Geneva	oo 4 Aug 2000 Wollerau SZ	Lulu Otanes * 6 Feb 1978 Dagupan City, Philippines
1 child	Jean-Patrick *23 Sep 2001 Horgen ZH

Henri and Julie Dirac (née Dennler)

Their children: Henriette, Marie-Antoinette,
Louise and François (middle) - around 1917

Dirac Genealogy (entry page)
Famile Tree of Pierre-Louis Dirac (1748-1799) and his wife Andréanne Favre
Family Tree of François Dirac (1782-1847) and his wife Catherine Pignat (1785-1851)
Family Tree of Louis-François Dirac ( 1810-1882) including Paul Dirac
Family Tree of François Dirac ( 1817-1899) including the American branch of the family

Paul Dirac, prix Nobel de Physique en 1933
Descendants of Paul Dirac's grandfather Louis-François Dirac ( 1810-1882)
Paul Dirac's ancestors up to his great-great-great-grandparents
Paul Dirac's parents, siblings and children

Le Village Dirac près d'Angoulême (Charente) et de Bordeaux
Philippe Dirac - document de 1745
Les armoiries de Dirac (coat of arms)