Ufford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Ufford has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived in either of the settlements called Ufford in the counties of Northamptonshire and Suffolk. The surname Ufford belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Ufford family

The surname Ufford was first found in Suffolk at Ufford, a parish, in the union of Woodbridge, hundred of Wilford. 1 Ufford is also a civil parish in the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Both parishes are ancient. The Cambridgeshire parish dates back to Saxon times when it was first listed as Uffawyrtha in 948. The Suffolk parish dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was listed as Uffeworda. 2

Both essentially mean "enclosure of a man called Uffa," from the Old English personal name + "worth." 3

"Of this family, which afterwards arrived to great honour, Robert, a younger son of John de Peyton, of Peyton in the county of Suffolk, assumed his surname from the lordship of Ufford, in that shire, became Robert de Ufford. His son was summoned to Parliament as a Baron in 1308, and his grandson, also a Robert de Ufford, was created Earl of Suffolk. " 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 may confirm this claim as Robert de Ufford was listed in Suffolk at that time. 5 Later the Feet of Fines listed Thomas Ufford in Essex in 1391. 6

One source has interesting note about the family: "Robert de Ufford (d. 1298), was the founder of the greatness of the family. A younger son of a Suffolk landowner, John de Peyton, Robert assumed his surname from his lordship of Ufford in Suffolk, and attended Edward I on his crusade. Between 1276 and 1281 he acted as Justice of Ireland. He was instructed by Edward I to introduce English laws into Ireland, and practised skilfully but unscrupulously the policy of sowing dissension among the different Irish septs. He also built the castle of Roscommon 'at countless cost.' " 7

Robert de Ufford (1298-1369) the first Earl of Suffolk was Robert's grandson and the second but eldest surviving son and heir of Robert de Ufford (1279-1316.)

William de Ufford (1339?-1382), second Earl of Suffolk was the second but eldest surviving son of Robert de Ufford, first Earl of Suffolk. 7

Early History of the Ufford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ufford research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1308, 1345, 1346, 1349, 1404, 1413, 1582 and 1631 are included under the topic Early Ufford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ufford Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Ufford have been found, including Ufford, Ufforde, Hawford, Hoffard and others.

Early Notables of the Ufford family

Notables of the family at this time include

Maud de Ufford, Countess of Oxford (1345/1346-1413), a wealthy English noblewoman and the wife of Thomas de Vere, 8th Earl of Oxford, only child was Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford, the favourite o...

Ufford migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Ufford, or a variant listed above:

Ufford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Mrs. Isabel Ufford, who arrived in Boston in 1632 aboard the ship "Lyon"
Mr. John Ufford, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1632 aboard the ship "Lyon" 8
Miss Isabel Ufford, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1632 aboard the ship "Lyon" 8
Thomas Ufford, who arrived in Boston, in 1632 aboard the ship "Lyon", bound for Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1633 9

Ufford 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. 10

Ufford Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Ufford, who settled in Barbados in 1680

Contemporary Notables of the name Ufford (post 1700) +

Page Ufford, American Chemical Executive, VT

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies