Bankhead History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland

The ancient Scottish name Bankhead was first used by the Strathclyde-Briton people of the Scottish/English Borderlands. The original bearer of the name lived in Ayrshire, where the family was found since the early Middle Ages.

Early Origins of the Bankhead family

The surname Bankhead was first found in Ayrshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Àir), formerly a county in the southwestern Strathclyde region of Scotland, that today makes up the Council Areas of South, East, and North Ayrshire, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Bankhead family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bankhead research. Another 104 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1559, 1609 and 1630 are included under the topic Early Bankhead History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bankhead Spelling Variations

Spelling and translation were hardly exact sciences in Medieval Scotland. Sound, rather than any set of rules, was the basis for spellings, so one name was often spelled different ways even within a single document. Spelling variations are thus an extremely common occurrence in Medieval Scottish names. Bankhead has been spelled Bankhead, Bankheid and others.

Early Notables of the Bankhead family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Hugh Bankhead, Surgeon of Wigtown

Bankhead Ranking

In the United States, the name Bankhead is the 9,870^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Bankhead migration to the United States +

Such hard times forced many to leave their homeland in search of opportunity across the Atlantic. Many of these families settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. The ancestors of many of these families have rediscovered their roots in the 20th century through the establishment of Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Among them:

Bankhead Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Bankhead who settled in New Hampshire in 1718
James Bankhead, who arrived in Virginia in 1738 2

Bankhead Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Bankhead, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1847
J P Bankhead, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 2

Bankhead migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Bankhead Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

John W. Bankhead, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Navarino" in 1837 3
Eliza Bankhead, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Navarino" in 1837 3
Benjamin Bankhead, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Royal Admiral" in 1838 4
Lydia Bankhead, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Royal Admiral" in 1838 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Bankhead (post 1700) +

Harrison Napoleon Bankhead III (1955-2023), American jazz double-bassist from Waukegan, Illinois
Tommy Bankhead (1931-2000), American Delta blues guitarist and singer
John P. Bankhead (1821-1867), officer in the United States Navy
Samuel Howard Bankhead (1905-1976), American baseball player
Daniel Robert Bankhead (1920-1976), American first black pitcher in Major League baseball
Michael Scott Bankhead (b. 1963), American former Major League Baseball pitcher
Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968), American actress
John L. Bankhead, American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Vancouver, 1943 5
John Hollis II Bankhead (1872-1946), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Alabama State House of Representatives, 1903; U.S. Senator from Alabama, 1931-46 5
John Hollis Bankhead (1842-1920), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Alabama State House of Representatives, 1865-67, 1880-81; Member of Alabama State Senate, 1876-77 5
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) NAVARINO 1837. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1837Navarino.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ROYAL ADMIRAL 1838. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1838RoyalAdmiral.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html