Beardmore History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Beardmore is one of the many new names that came to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Beardmore family lived in Dorset. The original derivation of the name, however, is not related to that area, but is probably a geographical reference to some lost town, village, or parish. It is plausible that this place was in Staffordshire, as the name is extremely common in that area. 1

Early Origins of the Beardmore family

The surname Beardmore was first found in Dorset, where they had been granted lands by their liege Lord, William the Conqueror, after the Norman Conquest in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Beardmore family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Beardmore research. Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Beardmore History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beardmore 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 Beardmore, Beardsmore, Berdmore, Berdsmore, Birdmore, Beedsmore and many more.

Early Notables of the Beardmore family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Thomas Beardmore of Beardmore

Migration of the Beardmore family to Ireland

Some of the Beardmore family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beardmore 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 Beardmore or a variant listed above were:

Beardmore Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Beardmore who arrived in Maryland in 1774

Beardmore migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Beardmore Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Alice Beardmore, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "British Empire" in 1880 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Beardmore (post 1700) +

Clayton A. "Bud" Beardmore (b. 1940), former American lacrosse coach, inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1980
Jim Beardmore, former All-American lacrosse goalie and current coach, awarded the Ensign C. Markland Kelly, Jr. Award in 1987
Matt Beardmore, American sports writer based in Chicago
Dorothy A. Beardmore (b. 1927), American Republican politician, Member of Michigan State Board of Education; Elected 1984, 1992 3
Kevin Beardmore (1960-2022), English professional rugby league footballer from the Pontefract district, England who played from 1978 to 1990
Harold Beardmore OBE, AKC (1898-1968), English Bishop in the Anglican church
Robert "Bob" Beardmore (b. 1960), English professional rugby league footballer who played from 1978 to 1991
Arthur Beardmore (d. 1771), English radical lawyer and friend of John Wilkes
Mr. Stephen Matthew Beardmore M.B.E., British Squadron Leader, recipient of Member of the Order of the British Empire on 8th June 2018 4
Rebecca Beardmore, Canadian contemporary printmaker, photographer and installation artist
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 12th November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists