"Among the surnames of French origin in Louisiana, that of Landry is second only to Hebert in frequency." by Robert C. West from the "Atlas of Louisiana Surnames of French and Spanish Origins"
Most of today's Landrys in Louisiana trace their ancestry to Acadian refugees who came at various times during the last half of the eighteenth century. So numerous were the early Landry arrivals that the history of various family lines in Louisiana has proved to be highly complex and difficult to reconstruct with any certainy. In addition, a fire destroying Port Royal marriage registers prior to 1700 makes the research process that much more difficult. Following is what Professor Stephen A. White, Genealogist at the University De Moncton in New Brunswick wrote in response to an inquiry about the Landrys....."I must say that there is probably no other Acadian family about whose background there has been so much speculation and wishful thinking. The result is that what we actually know about the Landry families who immigrated from France to Acadia has come to be regrettably enshrouded in a dense fog of error and confusion."
There are actually three lines of Landrys who settled in Louisiana, and the most numerous are the descendants of the two Acadian Landrys, Rene, the elder, and Rene, the younger. The descendants of Rene, the younger, probably make up the larger group. The third are the descendants of Jean Jacques Landry and his wife Susanne Sandoz from Neuchatel, Switzerland, who settled in St. Martinville in the 1830's. There is of course some possibility to descendants of Guillaume Landry of Quebec that could have found their way to Louisiana. There is also the possibility that a Landry ancestor could have come to Louisiana directly from France and started his own small family line.
The Landry clan was of significant numbers in Acadia before the Expulsion of 1755 occurred. Once forced to relocate, Louisiana became the ultimate resettling ground for most Landrys over the next several years that followed as it did for so many other Acadian families. Upon arriving in Louisiana, the first resettlement took place around Donaldsonville which was known as the Acadian Coast. Later groups resettled westward around the Attakapas district of St. Martinville. Even now, it is noticeable how large numbers of Landrys live in the Donaldsonville-Thibodeaux, St-Martinville-Lafayette, and Baton Rouge areas.
Currently, there are over 6000 households in Louisiana bearing the Landry name. Across the United States, there are over 13,000 Landry households. Canada also has its fair share of citizens bearing the Landry surname. And this does not take into consideration those that bear other family names but have Landry blood in their veins!