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Heyes History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Heyes History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The history of the Heyes family name begins after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in Herefordshire. This name, however, does not refer to that municipality, but is topographical in nature and indicates that the original bearer lived near an enclosure of some sort. It derives from the Old English word haye, which means enclosure. 1 Another source claims the name was for a "dweller at the hedge or hedged enclosure; keeper of the hedges or fences; one who came from Hayes (enclosure.)" 2

Early Origins of the Heyes family

The surname Heyes was first found in Herefordshire where Bartholomew de la Hase held a fief in 1165. He claimed descent from Hayes near Blois, Normandy. 3

Early rolls had a mixture of entries in the singular and the now more popular plural form: Richard de Hay in the Pipe Rolls for Lincolnshire in 1170; Robert de la Haie, a Knight Templar for Hertfordshire in 1185; Roger del Hayes in the Hundredorum Rolls for Norfolk in 1275; Henry del Haye and Stephen in the Haye in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1275; and Thomas atte Heye in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327. 4

From this early origin, the name was listed in a few locations, specifically, Norfolk, where some of the first records of the name were Edorard de lis Heys and John del Heys who were listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. The same rolls listed Nichola de la Hay in Lincolnshire. 5 William de Hayes was listed in Northamptonshire in the 13th century as a follower of John Giffard (1232-1299), the English nobleman, but had his house plundered after the Battle of Evesham in 1265. 5

Early History of the Heyes family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heyes research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1182, 1637, 1641, 1663, 1672, 1678, 1686, 1694, 1703, 1706, 1707, 1712, 1729, 1731, 1734, 1760, 1768, 1777 and 1831 are included under the topic Early Heyes History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heyes 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 Hayes, Hayse, Hays and others.

Early Notables of the Heyes family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Thomas Hayes of London; Sir James Hayes (1637-1694), founding Fellow of the Royal Society in 1663, Secretary to Prince Rupert and first Deputy-Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company in...
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Heyes Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Heyes family to Ireland

Some of the Heyes family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 154 words (11 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heyes 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 Heyes or a variant listed above were:

Heyes Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Peter Heyes, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 6
Jonathon Heyes, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1683 6

Heyes Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Michael Heyes, who landed in Maryland in 1826 6

Heyes migration to Australia +

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

Heyes Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Henry Heyes, British Convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" on 11th August 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Miss Harriett Heyes, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Fanny" on 14th July 1832, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. James Heyes who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 4th August 1836, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. John Heyes, English convict who was convicted in Preston, Lancashire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Equestrian" on 30th June 1845, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 10
Miss Frances Heyes, English convict who was convicted in Bolton, Great Manchester, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elizabeth and Henry" on 11th February 1848, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Heyes (post 1700) +

Herbert Heyes (1889-1958), American film actor who appeared in 100 films between 1919 and 1956
Douglas Heyes (1919-1993), American film and television writer, director, producer, actor, and composer
David Alan Heyes (b. 1946), British Labour Party politician, Member of Parliament for Ashton under Lyne (2001)

Historic Events for the Heyes family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. John Heyes, British Engine Room Artificer, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 12

RMS Lusitania

Mr. J. Heyes, English Able-Bodied Seaman from England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 13

Citations +

Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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 3rd March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 29th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fanny
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/equestrian
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth-and-henry
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/