Contents [hide]

Barefoot History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Barefoot History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Barefoot family was an integral part of Britain's Norman legacy, a legacy that began in 1066 with the Conquest of the island. Barefoot was a name given to a person who was in the habit of going without shoes. Friars, pilgrims, and people doing penance often went shoeless. The Barford(e) variation was likely derived from one of the many places in England so named in Hampshire, Norfolk, Warwickshire and Bedfordshire.

Early Origins of the Barefoot family

The surname Barefoot was first found in various counties and shires throughout Britain. Some of the first records of the name appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 and they include: Norman Barfot in Lincolnshire; Robert Barefot in Oxfordshire; and Alan Barefot in Cambridgeshire. 1

Henry de Bereford was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1204 and in Yorkshire, William de Bereford was listed there in 1325 and later John Berford was listed there in 1419. 2

Doora Barefield, or Doora and Kilraghtis, is a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe, in County Clare, Ireland.

Early History of the Barefoot family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Barefoot research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1180, 1400, 1655, 1685, 1686 and 1688 are included under the topic Early Barefoot History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Barefoot Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Barefoot, Barfoot, Barfitt, Barfit, Barford, Barefield, Barefred, Barefoote and many more.

Early Notables of the Barefoot family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Walter Barefoote (Barefoot) (fl. 1655-1688), English colonist and Deputy Governor of the Province of New Hampshire (1685-1686.)...

Barefoot Ranking

In the United States, the name Barefoot is the 8,770^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Barefoot migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Barefoot or a variant listed above were:

Barefoot Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Barefoot, who landed in Virginia in 1634
Mr. James Barefoot, (Barefoote), who left England and arrived in Maryland in 1634 aboard the ship "Ark and Dove" he may have died on board. 4
Thomas Barefoot, who landed in Virginia in 1635 4
Thomas Barefoot, who landed in Virginia in 1650 4
Thomas Barefoot, who arrived in Virginia in 1663 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Barefoot Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Sarah Barefoot, who arrived in Virginia in 1715 4
Elizabeth Barefoot, who settled in Maryland in 1743

Barefoot migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Barefoot Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

William Barefoot was a fisherman in Pool's Island, Newfoundland in 1871 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Barefoot (post 1700) +

Ken Barefoot (b. 1945), American former tight end for Virginia Tech, the Washington Redskins, and the Detroit Lions
Herbert John Leslie Barefoot GC (1887-1958), English recipient of the George Cross
Robert Barefoot (b. 1944), Canadian alternative health doctor and advocate of coral calcium
Darren Barefoot, Canadian marketing executive, founder and president of Capulet Communications
Harold Barefoot Sanders Jr. (1925-2008), American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Senator from Texas, 1972; U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, 1979-2003 6

Historic Events for the Barefoot family +

Lady of the Lake

Mrs. Sarah Barefoot (b. 1771), Irish traveller from Kilrea, Northern Ireland who sailed aboard the "Lady of the Lake" from Greenock, Scotland on 8th April 1833 to Quebec, Canada when the ship hit ice and sunk of the coast of Newfoundland on the 11th May 1833 and she died in the sinking
Mr. Peter Barefoot (b. 1807), Irish labourer from Kilrea, Northern Ireland who sailed aboard the "Lady of the Lake" from Greenock, Scotland on 8th April 1833 to Quebec, Canada when the ship hit ice and sunk of the coast of Newfoundland on the 11th May 1833 and he died in the sinking

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"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)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html