The history of Dorval dates back more than 300 years to 1667 when Sulpician priests

established a mission on the outskirts of what wasthen called Ville-Marie, a French

settlement which later became known as Montreal. The mission, originally named

“Gentilly”, was later renamed “La Présentation-de-la-Vierge-Marie”. Here, in 1668, Father

François Salignac de Fénelon (1) founded a school and a mission post for the Indians. In

1691, Jean-Baptiste Bouchard d'Orval, a fur trader and voyageur, bought the domain of

La Présentation from Pierre Le Gardeur de Repentigny (2), who was the owner at that

time. The city owes its name to Jean-Baptiste Bouchard d'Orval. His father, Claude

Bouchard d'Orval, had added “d’Orval” to his name.

How did the name d’Orval come to be added? 

Claude Bouchard was born in 1612 in Orval, one of eleven villages composing Montigny-Lengrain, Soissons, Picardy (France). Having studied medicine in France, he became a surgeon in his early 30s. In June 1643, Claude Bouchard immigrated to New France. He settled in Sillery, Québec (today the District of Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge). On September 19, 1647, for reasons unknown, he returned to France aboard the L'Ange-Gardien, and stayed there until 1648, when he came back to New France. He bought a concession of land in Château-Richer (3), a small town situated east of Quebec City, where the first rural parish in New France was established in 1678, and where many of the early pioneer families in Quebec first settled. In the following eleven years he cleared 40 arpents of land for cultivation at Chateau-Richer. In addition to being a surgeon and farmer, he became bailiff, clerk, and notary of the Beaupré Seigneurie. 

In a paper on the family, it is written that there was another Claude Bouchard, a tailor. The tailor and the surgeon were often confused. To avoid such mistakes, the surgeon added “d’Orval” to his name, after the village in Montigny-Lengrain (France) where he was born. 

On November 20, 1651, Claude Bouchard d'Orval married Marguerite Bénard, in Notre-Dame, Quebec (marriage contract 1651-11-05 - Notary Guillaume Audouart). 

Marguerite Bénard was born in 1626 in Arpajon, in the

Paris urban area of the department of Essonne (France). 

Seven children were born of their marriage, all of whom

grew up to become adults. Their eldest son, Jean-Baptiste

d’Orval was born in November 21, 1652 in Sillery, Quebec.

He eventually moved to Montreal, a key region for the

development of agriculture and the fur trade at the time.

In 1691 Jean-Baptiste d'Orval bought the Domaine de La

Présentation from Pierre Le Gardeur de Repentigny. (Note: Pierre Le Gardeur was the husband of Agathe de Saint-Père (4), a business entrepreneur and inventor.

On December 19, 1695, Jean-Baptiste married Marie-Antoinette Chouart Desgroseillers, the daughter of Médard Chouart des Groseilliers (5), a French explorer, who came to Canada in 1641, where he became a fur trader, and in 1670, co-founder of the Hudson’s Bay Company.

From this marriage four children were born: Geneviève Bouchard dit Dorval; Joseph

Bouchard dit Dorval; Jean-Baptiste Bouchard dit Dorval dit Desgroseilliers; and

Antoine Bouchard.

Jean-Baptiste died on November 19, 1703 in St Pierre, Quebec, and is buried at

Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, near Quebec City.

In conclusion: 
Dorval was incorporated as a village in 1892, a town in 1903, and a city in 1956.
On January 1, 2002, as part of the 2002–2006 municipal reorganization of Montreal, Dorval was merged into the city of Montreal. It became a borough of Montreal, but after a change of government and a 2004 referendum, Dorval was reconstituted as a city again on January 1, 2006.

Bibliography:
City of Dorval
Dorval Historical Society
Canadian Encyclopedia
FrancoGène
Institut Drouin
Rootsweb
Geni
Dictionnaire National des Canadiens Français 1608-1760

(1) http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/salignac_de_la_mothe_fenelon_francois_de_1F.html
https://www.fotw.info/flags/ca-qcdor.html
(2) http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/legardeur_de_repentigny_pierre_1648_1E.html
(3) https://baladodecouverte.com/circuits/675/poi/6864/promontoire-de-chateau-richer
(4) http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/saint_pere_agathe_de_3E.html
(5) https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/medard-chouart-des-groseilliers

​Origins of the name Dorval

Marriage Register C;laude Bouchard and Marguerite Bénard, 20-11-1651.

Marker on Lakeshore Drive at the bottom of Dorval Avenue​

Marriage Register Jean-Baptiste Bouchard and Marie-Antoinette Chouart Desgroseilliers - 19-12-1695

Médard Chouart des Groseilliers

Claude Bouchard d"Orval​

History of Dorval