Contents [hide]

Oxford History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Oxford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Oxford family

The surname Oxford was first found in Oxfordshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Oxford, Ulric de Oxenford, a Norman noble who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Early History of the Oxford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Oxford research. Another 83 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1317, 1319 and 1607 are included under the topic Early Oxford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Oxford Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Oxford, Oxenford, Oxforde, Oxenforde and others.

Early Notables of the Oxford family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

the Oxford family of Oxfordshire

Oxford Ranking

In the United States, the name Oxford is the 5,654^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Oxford is ranked the 492^nd most popular surname with an estimated 96 people with that name. 3

Oxford migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Oxford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Christopher Oxford, who landed in Virginia in 1635 4
William Oxford, who arrived in Virginia in 1637 4
Joseph Oxford, who landed in Virginia in 1650 4
John Oxford, who arrived in Virginia in 1652 4
Xpher Oxford, who landed in Virginia in 1654 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Oxford Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Rebecca Oxford, who landed in Virginia in 1724 4
Abraham Oxford, who arrived in New Jersey in 1760 4

Oxford Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Henry Oxford, aged 18, who arrived in New York in 1862 4

Oxford migration to Australia +

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

Oxford Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Samuel Oxford, English convict from Dorset, who was transported aboard the "Andromeda" on November 13, 1832, settling in New South Wales, Australia 5
Miss. Caroline Oxford, British Convict who was convicted in Birmingham, West Midlands, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 9th March 1847, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Mr. Charles Oxford, British Convict who was convicted in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Dudbrook" on 17th November 1852, arriving in Western Australia 7
William Oxford, aged 30, a brickmaker, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "William Stevenson" 8

Oxford 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:

Oxford Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Sarah Oxford, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Royal Albert" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 6th March 1853 9
Mr. Henry Oxford, (b. 1841), aged 24, British carpenter travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Indian Empire" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 23rd July 1865 10

Oxford 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. 11

Oxford Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Michael Oxford, who settled in Barbados in 1639

Contemporary Notables of the name Oxford (post 1700) +

Tom Oxford, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for Chief Justice of Texas State Supreme Court, 2006, 2008; Candidate for justice of Texas State Supreme Court, 2010, 2012 12
Harry E. Oxford (b. 1866), American Democratic Party politician, Member of New York State Assembly, 1902-03, 1913; Delegate to New York State Constitutional Convention 12th District, 1915 12
Mrs. Dixon Oxford, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Georgia, 1952 12
Harry E Oxford, American politician, who was a member of the New York state assembly from 1902-03 to 1913
Kenneth "Ken" Oxford (1929-1993), English footballer
Sir Kenneth Gordon Oxford CBE, QPM (1924-1998), Chief constable of Merseyside Police from 1976 until 1989
Arthur Oxford (1895-1980), Australian rugby league footballer

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
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)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 27) Andromeda voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1832 with 186 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/andromeda/1832
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th February 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1847
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 23rd July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dudbrook
South Australian Register Friday 2nd February 1855. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) William Stevenson 1855. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/williamstevenson1855.shtml
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
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html