Contents [hide]

Lister History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Lister History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

The origins of the Lister surname lie with the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name Lister began when someone in that family worked as a "litster" or dyer, a trade-name for a person who dyed clothes and other fabrics. This surname is derived from the Old English words lite and litte, which both mean to dye.

Early Origins of the Lister family

The surname Lister was first found in Yorkshire where today it is one of the most populous surname in that shire. Early records show "Lystare, clothe dyynge (or lytaster of clothe dyynge." "The pedigree is traced to the sixth of Edward II., when John de Lister was resident of Derby. The elder line was of Mydhope, or Middop." 1 He later transferred himself to Yorkshire on his marriage with the daughter and heiress of John de Bolton 2

Gisburn in the West Riding of Yorkshire "was for many generations the seat of the family of Lister, whose descendant, Lord Ribblesdale, is lord of the manor. Gisburn Park is a noble mansion, containing a valuable collection of paintings; the park is extensive, and approached by a handsome lodge. The Lister family are interred in a vault in the church." 3

"Manningham Hall, [in Manningham, in the West Riding of Yorkshire] the seat of E. C. Lister Kaye, Esq., is a handsome mansion, erected on the site of the ancient house of the Lister family, taken down in 1770, and is surrounded by a park." 3

Early History of the Lister family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lister research. Another 122 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1296, 1534, 1555, 1597, 1638, 1639, 1658, 1668, 1705, 1707, 1712, 1715, 1718, 1791 and 1840 are included under the topic Early Lister History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lister Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Lister has appeared include Lister, Litster, Lidster and others.

Early Notables of the Lister family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Michael Lister, High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1534
Sir Martin Lister (c. 1638-1712), English naturalist and physician, eponym of the Dorsa Lister ridge on the Moon
Anne Lister (1791-1840) was a well-off Yorkshire landowner, diarist and traveler
Thomas Lister (1597-1668), English Colonel in the Parliamentary army during the English Civil War, he was appointed a judge at the trial of Charles I, did not sign his death warrant and on the Restora...
Martin Lister FRS (1639-1712), an English naturalist and physician

Lister World Ranking

In the United States, the name Lister is the 4,007^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 4 However, in New Zealand, the name Lister is ranked the 761^st most popular surname with an estimated 959 people with that name. 5 And in the United Kingdom, the name Lister is the 658^th popular surname with an estimated 9,976 people with that name. 6

Lister migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Lister arrived in North America very early:

Lister Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Lister, who landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 7
Thomas Lister, aged 22, who settled in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Paul"
Rich Lister, who landed in Virginia in 1664 7
Edmond Lister, who arrived in Maryland or Virginia in 1670 7
Thomas Lister, who landed in Maryland in 1672 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Lister Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Richard Lister, who arrived in Virginia in 1717 7
William Lister, who landed in Virginia in 1743 7

Lister Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

George Lister, aged 25, who landed in New York, NY in 1803 7
Elizabeth Lister, who arrived in New York State in 1811
Eliza Lister, who landed in New York, NY in 1811 7
Samuel Lister, who landed in New York, NY in 1829 7
John Lister, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1844 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Lister migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Lister Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Lieut. Benjamin Lister U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 he served in DeLancey's 2nd Battalion 8
Capt. Thomas Lister U.E. who settled in New Brunswick c. 1784 he served in DeLancey's 3rd Battalion 8

Lister migration to Australia +

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

Lister Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Lister, (Glover, Lester), English convict who was convicted in London, England for life for pick pocketing, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 16th January 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, note he absconded in 1818 9
Miss Ann Lister, (Lidster, Hannah), English Convict who was convicted in Kingston Upon Hull, Yorkshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Atwick" on 28 September 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
Mr. Samuel Lister, English convict who was convicted in Salford, Greater Manchester, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 28th July 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
Mr. Isaac Lister, English convict who was convicted in Salford, Greater Manchester, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Cressy" on 28th April 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 12
Alexander Kirkaldy Lister, aged 25, a blacksmith, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Utopia"

Lister 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:

Lister Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Lister, aged 31, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Indus" in 1843
Mary Ann Lister, aged 27, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Indus" in 1843
Thomas Lister, aged 1, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Indus" in 1843
William Lister, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "New Era" in 1855
Eliza Lister, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "New Era" in 1855
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Lister 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. 13

Lister Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mary Lister, who settled in Barbados in 1680 with her servants

Contemporary Notables of the name Lister (post 1700) +

Thomas "Tom" Lister Jr. (1958-2020), American character actor and professional wrestler from Compton, California
Thomas Mosie Lister (1921-2015), American singer and Baptist minister
Tommy "Tiny" Lister (b. 1958), American character actor and former wrestler
Ernest Lister (1870-1919), English-born, American politician, Governor of Washington (1913-1919)
Laurier Lister (1907-1986), American theatre producer, director, and performer
Ernest Lister (1870-1919), American Democratic Party politician, Real estate and insurance business; Candidate for U.S. Representative from Washington 2nd District, 1909; Governor of Washington, 1913-19 14
Edwin Lister, American politician, Member of New Jersey State House of Assembly from Essex County, 1886 14
Edna Lister, American politician, Candidate for Secretary of State of Washington, 1948 14
Edgar Lister, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Montana, 1972 14
B. M. Lister, American politician, Member of South Dakota State House of Representatives 50th District, 1919-20 14
... (Another 29 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Lister family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Robert S Lister, British Able Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 15
Mr. Adam Lister, British Ordinary Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 15

HMS Repulse

Mr. Lister, British Marine, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking, was wounded and evacuated 16

HMS Royal Oak

Harvey Greville Lister (d. 1939), British Boy 1st Class with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 17

Victoria steamboat disaster

Thomas Lister, Canadian passenger who was killed in the Victoria steamboat disaster when the boat capsized in 1881

The Lister 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: Retinens vestigia famae
Motto Translation: Still treading the footsteps of an honourable ancestry.

Citations +

Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
Convict Records of Australia. Retreived 23rd August 2020 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atwick
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 23rd March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st May 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cressy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html