Show ContentsHoad History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Hoad came to England with the ancestors of the Hoad family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from on a heath, or perhaps in Hoath, in Kent. [1] The place-name and the surname are derived from the Old English word hoth (with a long o), which means heath. The surname means "dweller at the heath," while the place-name means "place at the heath." Hoath was recorded as La Hathe at some point in the 13th century. [2]

Early Origins of the Hoad family

The surname Hoad was first found in Sussex. "A hoad in the South means a heathy or rough ground. In Sussex many names of places which comprise the syllable hoth or heath have had it corrupted by the peasantry to hoad, and thus Hothly and Roeheath become Hoadly and Roehoad. " [3]

Early feudal rolls provided the king of the time a method of cataloguing holdings for taxation, but today they provide a glimpse into the wide surname spellings in use at that time: John del Hoth was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1275 in Norfolk; and Simon atte Hothe was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1296 and also in the Assize Rolls for Kent in 1317. [2]

Early History of the Hoad family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hoad research. Another 70 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1643, 1655, 1659, 1662, 1676, 1705, 1706, 1757 and 1761 are included under the topic Early Hoad History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hoad Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Hoad, Hoath, O'Hode, Oade, Oades, Oadt, Odo and others.

Early Notables of the Hoad family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • Samuel Hoadly (1643-1705), schoolmaster and writer of educational books, was born 30 Sept. 1643 at Guildford, New England, whither his parents had fled at the outbreak of the great rebellion. In 1655...
  • His second son, Benjamin Hoadly (1676-1761), Bishop in succession of Bangor, Hereford, Salisbury, and Winchester, was born at Westerham in Kent 14 Nov. 1676. [4]

Ireland Migration of the Hoad family to Ireland

Some of the Hoad family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 39 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Hoad migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Hoad name or one of its variants:

Hoad Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Morice Hoad, who landed in Maryland in 1678 [5]
  • Nicholas Hoad, who settled in New England in 1680

Australia Hoad migration to Australia +

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

Hoad Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Charles Hoad, English convict from Sussex, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on May 17, 1823, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia [6]
  • Alfred Hoad, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Lysander" in 1840 [7]
  • William Hoad, aged 20, a labourer, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Catherine" in 1851 [8]
  • Esther Hoad, aged 25, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Catherine" in 1851 [8]
  • William Hoad, aged 20, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Catherine" [8]

Contemporary Notables of the name Hoad (post 1700) +

  • Sir John Charles Hoad (1856-1911), Australian who held the two highest posts open to an officer of his time in their military forces
  • Brigadier Oswald Vick Hoad (1888-1963), Australian Commanding Officer, Tasmania Lines of Communication Area from 1944 to 1945 [9]
  • Lewis Alan "Lew" Hoad (1934-1994), Australian champion tennis player who led Australia to win the Davis Cup in 1953 and won 13 Grand Slam events
  • Edward Lisle Goldsworthy "Teddy" Hoad (1896-1986), West Indian cricketer

Empress of Ireland
  • Miss Kathleen Hoad (1913-1914), Canadian Third Class Passenger from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking [10]
  • Mrs. Kathleen Hoad (1887-1914), née Lane Canadian Third Class Passenger from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking [10]


The Hoad Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Veritas et patria
Motto Translation: Truth and faith.


  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  4. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  5. 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)
  6. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Albion voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1823 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1823
  7. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) LYSANDER 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Lysander.htm
  8. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CATHERINE 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Catherine.htm
  9. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, August 30) Oswald Hoad. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Hoad/Oswald_Vick/Australia.html
  10. Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html


Houseofnames.com on Facebook