Trew History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Trew name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived near some prominent tree or in one of the settlements in Devon called Tree, Trew, True, or Trow. The surname is derived from the Old English words treow, trew, or trow, which are in turn derived from the Old English word treow, which means tree.

However, the surname Trew is occasionally derived from residence at Trow Farm or Trow Down in Wiltshire. The derivation in this case is from the Old English word trog, which means trough. 1

The name could be from the Middle English word "trew(e)" or "trow(e) which means "faithful, loyal, trustworthy." 2 3 4

Early Origins of the Trew family

The surname Trew was first found in Wiltshire, where Rannulfus Truue (Triue) was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of 1180. Ralph Truwe was a Knight's Templar in Kent in 1185 and Roger Trowe was listed in the Curia Regis Roll for Wiltshire in 1200. Over 100 years later, William Trewe was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1301 and later, Henry le Trewe was listed in Wiltshire in 1327.

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had only one entry for the family, that of Henry Trewe in Bedfordshire. 2

Early History of the Trew family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Trew research. Another 120 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1185, 1200, 1273, 1301, 1327, 1595, 1624, 1774 and 1807 are included under the topic Early Trew History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Trew Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Trew has undergone many spelling variations, including True, Truue, Trew, Trewe, Truwe, Trow, Trowe and others.

Early Notables of the Trew family

More information is included under the topic Early Trew Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Trew Ranking

In the United States, the name Trew is the 12,933^rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Trew migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Trew were among those contributors:

Trew Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

James Trew, who arrived in Virginia in 1663 6

Trew Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Solomon Trew, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1870 6

Trew migration to Australia +

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

Trew Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. George Trew, (Frew), (b. 1827), aged 25, English convict who was convicted in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Dudbrook" on 17th November 1852, arriving in Western Australia, he died in 1905 7
Charles Peyton Trew, aged 29, who arrived in South Australia in 1853 aboard the ship "Ramillies" 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Trew (post 1700) +

Anthony "Tony" Trew (b. 1941), South African politician
Kim Trew, Canadian politician
Billy Trew (1878-1956), Welsh rugby union player
Beatrice Trew (1897-1976), Canadian politician
Antony Trew (1906-1996), South African writer and business man
Peter John Edward Trew (b. 1932), British Conservative Party politician and director of Rush & Tompkins Group Ltd. since 1973

Citations +

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)
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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 23rd July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dudbrook
South Australian Register Tuesday 11 January 1853. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) RAMILLIES 1853. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/ramillies1853.shtml