Show ContentsWinterbottom History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Winterbottom surname is derived from the Middle English words "winter," and "bottom" denoting a valley where "shepherds for shelter in the winter." 1

The family may have originally been from Winterbottom, in Cheshire or in what we know as Greater Manchester, England: "The Winterbottoms are a time-honoured stock indigenous to Saddleworth." 2

"Like most of the surnames whose suffix is the local "bottom," Winterbottom arose in the south-east corner of Lancashire, on the Cheshire and Yorkshire borders." 3

Early Origins of the Winterbottom family

The surname Winterbottom was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire, with references going back at least as far as 1299 (John of the Winterbottom, owner of the Marled Earth in Quick, now part of Saddleworth). 4

Early History of the Winterbottom family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Winterbottom research. Another 123 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1500, 1564, 1593, 1602, 1618, 1644, 1653, 1659, 1693, 1694, 1751 and 1798 are included under the topic Early Winterbottom History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Winterbottom Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Winterbottom, Winterbottam, Winterbotham and others.

Early Notables of the Winterbottom family

Notables of the family at this time include

  • Thomas Winterbottom, Lord Mayor of London in 1751


United States Winterbottom migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Winterbottom Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Joseph Winterbottom, a bonded passenger who arrived in Virginia in 1720
  • John Winterbottom, who settled in North America in 1750
  • James Winterbottom, who was on record in Philadelphia in 1771
Winterbottom Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Winterbottom, who arrived in Connecticut in 1812 5
  • William Winterbottom, aged 34, who landed in New York in 1854 5
  • Benjamin Winterbottom, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1854
  • Joseph Winterbottom, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1855 5
  • William Winterbottom, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1860 5

Canada Winterbottom migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Winterbottom Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Samuel Winterbottom, a Loyalist who arrived in Canada from America in 1796

Australia Winterbottom migration to Australia +

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

Winterbottom Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • William Winterbottom, English convict from Derby, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on September 3rd, 1820, settling in New South Wales, Australia 6
  • Mr. William Winterbottom, English convict who was convicted in West Riding, Yorkshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 20th January 1836, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
  • Mr. Joseph Winterbottom, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancastershire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Augusta Jessie" on 10th August 1838, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
  • Robert Winterbottom, English convict from Salford, Lancaster, who was transported aboard the "Anson" on September 23, 1843, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 9
  • Mr. Ammon Winterbottom, British Convict who was convicted in Pontefract, Yorkshire, England for 10 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Dudbrook" on 17th November 1852, arriving in Western Australia, he died in 1852 aboard the ship 10

Contemporary Notables of the name Winterbottom (post 1700) +

  • Thomas Masterman Winterbottom (1765-1859), English physician, born in 1764 or 1765, the son of a physician at South Shields in the county of Durham 11
  • Ian Winterbottom (1913-1992), Baron Winterbottom, English politician
  • Sir Walter Winterbottom (1913-2002), British National football team manager
  • Dr. Rick Winterbottom, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Toronto
  • Michael Winterbottom (b. 1961), British film director and writer

HMS Royal Oak
  • George E. Winterbottom, British Leading Stoker with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he survived the sinking 12


  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. 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)
  6. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1820 with 192 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1820
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
  8. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 23rd August 2020 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/augusta-jessie
  9. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Anson voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1843 with 499 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/anson/1843
  10. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 23rd July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dudbrook
  11. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 5 Feb. 2019
  12. 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


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