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Driver History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Driver History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Driver was an occupational name for someone who was a "driver" or "drover" for someone who "drove a herd of cattle, especially to distant markets." 1 2 3

Another source goes into more detail: "driver, the driftman; on Moors the man employed to sweep together the colts and horses and cattle and sheep sent out on the commons, to a centre where the owners may claim them." 4

Early Origins of the Driver family

The surname Driver was first found in Cambridgeshire where Alice le Driveres was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1279. Later, Gilbert le Drivere was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1283. 5 Both of these entries point to the occupational nature of the name as for the latter, means "Gilbert the Driver."

The Lay Subsidy (Rylands) for Lancashire show William le Dryver, as holding lands there in 1332 and the Writs of Parliament includes entries for John le Drivere and Richard le Drivere, c. 1300. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 lists Johannes Dryver as holding lands at that time. 3

"The name of Driver is well represented in the district of Ely, [Cambridgeshire]. It is also established in Lancashire and Yorkshire. In the 17th century a gentle family of the name resided at Avening, Gloucestershire." 6

Early History of the Driver family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Driver research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1279, 1332, 1563 and 1667 are included under the topic Early Driver History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Driver Spelling Variations

Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Driver, Dryver and others.

Early Notables of the Driver family

More information is included under the topic Early Driver Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Driver Ranking

In the United States, the name Driver is the 1,985^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 7

Driver migration to the United States +

Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Driver or a variant listed above:

Driver Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Robert Driver, who arrived in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1630 8
Robert Driver, aged 8, British settler who landed in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "Abigail" 8
Jane Driver, who landed in Virginia in 1649 8
Tho Driver, who landed in Virginia in 1664 8
David Driver, who arrived in Maryland in 1665 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Driver Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Charles Driver, who landed in Virginia in 1701 8
Thomas Driver, who settled in Georgia in 1774
Edward Driver, who settled in Maryland in 1774

Driver Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Isabella Driver, who landed in New York, NY in 1844 8
Eduard Driver, who arrived in Texas in 1846 aboard the ship "Neptune" 8
William Driver, aged 32, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1848 8
Mr. Driver, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 8
William Driver, who landed in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1854 8

Driver migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Driver Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Driver, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749

Driver migration to Australia +

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

Driver Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Driver, English convict who was convicted in London, England for life, transported aboard the "Fanny" on 25th August 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. John Driver, (Jacob), (b. 1779), aged 53, English farm hand who was convicted in Kent, England for 14 years for receiving stolen goods, transported aboard the "Circassian" on 4th November 1832, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
Mr. Charles Driver, (b. 1815), aged 18, English gardener who was convicted in Norfolk, Norfolkshire, England for life for breaking and entering, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 3rd November 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1875 11
Mr. George Driver, (b. 1816), aged 24, English labourer who was convicted in Suffolk, England for 10 years for highway robbery, transported aboard the "Eden" on 8th July 1840, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
Mr. Charles Driver, British Convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asiatic" on 26th May 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Driver 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:

Driver Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Archibald Driver, British settler travelling from London via Cobh aboard the ship "Sir George Pollock" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 5th September 1859 14
Thomas Driver, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Nimroud" in 1863
Mr. Driver, American settler travelling from Honolulu aboard the ship "Nebraska" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 16th November 1872 15
Mr. Samuel Driver, (b. 1853), aged 21, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Dorette" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 14th April 1874 15
William Driver, aged 31, a chairmaker, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arethusa" in 1879
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Driver migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 16

Driver Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

James Driver who settled in Barbados in 1635 with his wife Jane, along with sons Robert and Thomas
Mr. James Driver, (b. 1608), aged 27, British settler travelling from London, England aboard the ship "Alexander" arriving in Barbados in 1635 17
Elizabeth Driver, who settled in Jamaica in 1684

Contemporary Notables of the name Driver (post 1700) +

William Driver (1803-1886), American ship's captain, best known for coining the phrase "Old Glory" for the U.S. flag
Phyllis Driver (b. 1917), birth name of Phyllis Diller, American actress and comedienne
Amelia FIona J. "Minnie" Driver (b. 1970), English Academy Award, Emmy Award and a Golden Globe nominated actress and singer-songwriter 18
Ryan Driver (b. 1979), English cricketer
Samuel Rolles Driver (1846-1914), English Old Testament scholar
Sir Godfrey Rolles Driver (1892-1975), English biblical scholar
Mr. Michael Brian Driver C.B., British Chief Financial Officer for Ministry of Justice and Head of Government Finance for the HM Treasury, was appointed Companion of the Order of Bath on 8th June 2018, for public service 19
Richard Driver (1829-1880), Australian solicitor, politician and cricket administrator
Charles Henry Driver (1832-1900), British architect
Marcus Driver O'Day (1897-1961), American physicist, eponym of the O'Day lunar crater

Historic Events for the Driver family +

North Sea Flood

Catherine Driver, British traveler aboard the ferry "Princess Victoria" killed in the North Sea Flood, a major storm surge in 1953
Patrick Driver, British traveler aboard the ferry "Princess Victoria" who survived the North Sea Flood, a major storm surge in 1953

USS Arizona

Mr. Bill Lester Driver, American Radioman Third Class from California, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 20

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Baring-Gould S., Family Names and their Story. London: Seeley, Service & Co. Limited, 1913. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
"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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 8th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/circassian
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th October 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asiatic
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 28th September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Amelia Driver. (Retrieved 2012, September 3) Amelia Driver. Retrieved from http://www.minniedriver.com/
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62310, 4 July 2019 | London Gazette, The Gazette, June 2018, https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/62310/supplement/B1
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html