Show ContentsLovelady History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Lovelady family

The surname Lovelady was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the 13th century when they held lands when Adam Lovelady in 1297 also held lands in Wakefield in Yorkshire.

Early History of the Lovelady family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lovelady research. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1455, 1487 and 1679 are included under the topic Early Lovelady History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lovelady Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Lovelady, Luvladey and others.

Early Notables of the Lovelady family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • the Lovelady family of Sefton

Lovelady Ranking

In the United States, the name Lovelady is the 6,856th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1


New Zealand Lovelady 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:

Lovelady Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. William Lovelady, Cornish settler travelling from Launceston aboard the ship "Marys" arriving in New Zealand in 1848 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Lovelady (post 1700) +

  • R. William Lovelady Jr., American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Virginia, 1972 3
  • R. O. Lovelady, American politician, Mayor of Center, Texas, 1955-56 3
  • Joshua David Lovelady (b. 1978), former American football guard who played two seasons with the Detroit Lions
  • Greg Lovelady (b. 1979), American college baseball head coach of the Wright State Raiders baseball program
  • John Lovelady, American three-time Primetime Emmy nominated puppeteer who worked with The Muppet Show (1976), Adventures in Wonderland (1992) and Tales from Muppetland: The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972)
  • Cyrus Lovelady, namesake of Lovelady, Texas, founded in 1872
  • Steve Lovelady (1943-2010), American two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, reporter for The Wall Street Journal, associate editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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