Cudworth History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Cudworth family

The surname Cudworth was first found in either Cudworth, a parish, in the union of Chard, hundred of South Petherton, W. division of Somerset or Cudworth, a township, in the parish of Royston, wapentake of Staincross in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 1

The Somerset parish seems to be the oldest as it is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Cudeworde. 2

The first record of the family was that of William de Cudewurth who was listed in the Assize Rolls of Somerset in 1243. Over one hundred years later, John de Cudworth was listed in Lancashire in 1384. 3

The Harleian Manuscripts held in the archives of the British Museum list Cudworth of Werneth of Lancashire in MS 1437 (folio 81) and others.

There are two thoughts as to the etymology of the name. The first claims the name is "from Cud or Coit, a wood, and worth, a place, a dwelling - the farm or dwelling in the wood," 4 and the second claims the name was derived from an "enclosure of a man called Cuda," from the Old English personal name + "worth." 5

Early History of the Cudworth family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cudworth research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1455, 1487, 1612, 1617, 1624, 1634, 1682 and 1688 are included under the topic Early Cudworth History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cudworth Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Cudworth, Cutworth, Cudworthy, Cutworthy, Goodworth, Goodworthy, Gutworth and many more.

Early Notables of the Cudworth family

Distinguished members of the family include

Ralph Cudworth (1617-1688), an English philosopher, the leader of the Cambridge Platonists. He was "born at Aller, Somersetshire, in 1617. His father, Dr. Ralph Cudworth (d. 1624), had been fellow of...

Cudworth migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cudworth Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

James Cudworth (c.1612–1682) English settler to Scituate, Massachusetts with his wife Mary in 1634, early American Deputy to the Plymouth General Court, Assistant Governor, commander of the colony’s militia in King Philip’s War and Deputy Governor
James Cudworth, who landed in New England in 1656 6

Cudworth Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

J W Cudworth, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 6

Cudworth 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:

Cudworth Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

S. Jane Cudworth, aged 21, a domestic servant, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Apelles" in 1878

Contemporary Notables of the name Cudworth (post 1700) +

James Alaric "Cuddy" Cudworth (1858-1943), American Major League Baseball player who played in 1884 for the Kansas City Cowboys
Tom Cudworth (b. 1964), American screenwriter
Fraser N. Cudworth, American politician, Mayor of San Anselmo, California, 1953-54 7
Addison Edward Cudworth (b. 1852), American Republican politician, Member of Vermont State Senate from Windham County, 1898-1900, 1927; Municipal Judge in Vermont, 1917-21 7
James I'Anson Cudworth (1817-1899), English Locomotive Superintendent of the South Eastern Railway (SER)
Benjamin Cudworth Yancey Jr. (1817-1891), American politician, lawyer, officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html