First named Lower Ireland due to its location in the township of Ireland and in opposition to Upper Ireland, now the hamlet of Maple Grove in Irlande, Saint-Jean-de-Brébeuf was first colonized by English, Irish and Scottish settlers. The current name was given to the municipality at its constitution in 1946. It honours Jean de Brébeuf, a French Jesuitmissionarymartyred in Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, near Midland, Ontario, in 1649.
The former parish church was converted in 2014 to house Le Théâtre Bleu performance venue.[4]