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Show ContentsTree History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

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Tree is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once 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 Tree 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 Tree family

The surname Tree 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 Tree family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tree 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 Tree History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tree Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Tree family name include True, Truue, Trew, Trewe, Truwe, Trow, Trowe and others.

Early Notables of the Tree family

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

United States Tree migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Tree surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Tree Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Richard Tree, Jr., aged 12, who landed in Virginia in 1629 aboard the ship "George" with his father Richard Tree 5
  • Richard Tree, who arrived in Virginia in 1629 aboard the ship "George" 6
  • Humph Tree, who landed in Virginia in 1643 6
  • Geo Tree, who arrived in Virginia in 1665 6

Australia Tree migration to Australia +

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

Tree Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. James Tree, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Batavia" in October 1817, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
  • Miss Trephonia (Tryphena) Tree, (b. 1820), aged 20, Cornish housemaid travelling aboard the ship "Lady Clarke" arriving in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 14th August 1840 8
  • Ann Tree, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Sultana" in 1851 9

New Zealand Tree 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:

Tree Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. James Tree, (b. 1848), aged 30, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Western Monarch" arriving in New Zealand in 1879 10
  • Mrs. Elizabeth Tree, (b. 1850), aged 28, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Western Monarch" arriving in New Zealand in 1879 10
  • Mr. George Tree, (b. 1873), aged 5, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Western Monarch" arriving in New Zealand in 1879 10
  • Mr. John A Tree, (b. 1876), aged 2, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Western Monarch" arriving in New Zealand in 1879 10

Contemporary Notables of the name Tree (post 1700) +

  • Michael Tree (1934-2018), born Michael Applebaum, an American violist from Newark, New Jersey
  • Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1853-1917), English actor/manager
  • Robert Tree Cody (1951-2023), American musician, dancer, and educator
  • Tree Ryde, Canadian actress, known for her role in The Taste of Relation (2009)
  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  4. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  5. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  6. 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)
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/batavia
  8. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, May 30). Ships' Passenger Lists of Arrivals in New South Wales on (1828 - 1842, 1848 - 1849) [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_nsw_1838_on.pdf
  9. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SULTANA 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Sultana.htm
  10. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
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