Kroft History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

Kroft is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in an area that was near the croft.The surname is the northern form of Croft and it's literal meaning is the area of arable land that was located by a cottage that was worked on by the farmer. 1 2

"It may also sometimes be from Anglo-Saxon cræfta, a craftsman, or the same as the German names Craft, Crafto, Kraft; probably from kraft, strength, force, power. Ferguson mentions an Old German Crafto as the name of a member of a noble family in the twelfth or thirteenth century." 3

Early Origins of the Kroft family

The surname Kroft was first found in Essex, where Aluric Craft was listed as a Knights Templar in 1185. Almost one hundred years later, Basil Craft was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1283. 4

Over in Warwickshire, Roger de Craft was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1213 and the same rolls listed de Croft (no forename) in 1214. Later, the Assize Rolls of 1222 included Robert de Craft in 1222. 4

Roger de Crafte, Bedfordshire, was listed there Henry III-Edward I: Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. 5

Early History of the Kroft family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kroft research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1185, 1213, 1222, 1275, 1283, 1620, 1774, 1786, 1787, 1795, 1802, 1805, 1862 and 1865 are included under the topic Early Kroft History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kroft 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 Kroft family name include Craft, Crafte, Craftin, Crafton and others.

Early Notables of the Kroft family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Roger de Craft, a prominent 13th century landholder in Warwickshire.William H. Craft (d. 1805?), the English enamel-painter, a prolific artist, was employed at the Battersea enamel works. He was probably a relation, perhaps a son, of Thomas Craft, who was employed at the porcelain works at Bow, and executed the bowl now in the British Museum, to which he affixed an account of its production, rendering it one of the few pieces of Bow China that have been authenticated. William Craft exhibited numerous enamels at the Royal Academy in the years 1774-1795. They...
Another 163 words (12 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kroft Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kroft 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 Kroft surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Kroft Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Nicholas Kroft, who arrived in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in 1747 6

Kroft Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Christopher Kroft, who arrived in Baltimore, Maryland in 1832 6
John Kroft, who landed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania in 1852 6
Leanhard Kroft, aged 21, who landed in America, in 1894

Kroft Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Johann Kroft, aged 59, who immigrated to America from Hamburg, in 1903
Arnold Kroft, aged 23, who landed in America from Berlin, in 1904
Johann Kroft, aged 26, who landed in America from Oberdrassen, Hungary, in 1911
Joseph Kroft, aged 27, who immigrated to the United States, in 1924

Contemporary Notables of the name Kroft (post 1700) +

Steve Kroft (b. 1945), American journalist and a longtime correspondent for CBS' 60 Minutes
Willem "Wim" Frederik van der Kroft (1916-2001), Dutch bronze medalist canoeist at the 1936 Summer Olympics
Richard Henry Kroft CM (b. 1938), former Canadian lawyer, businessman and Senator

Citations +

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
Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
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)