Ashfold History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The Anglo-Saxon name Ashfold comes from when the family resided in Ashfield, which means the open field with ash trees. It is a place-name appearing in Lancashire, and is were the family originated, though they became centered in Suffolk.

Early Origins of the Ashfold family

The surname Ashfold was first found in Suffolk, at Ashfield, which dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was listed there as Assefelda. 1 Great Ashfield, Suffolk was also listed there as Eascefelda. 2

To complicate matters more, Ashfield is revival of an ancient village originally named Esfeld in 1216. It is now a local government district in western Nottinghamshire formed in 1974.

And today, Ashfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia. This latter local was established shortly after the First Fleet arrival in 1788.

Early History of the Ashfold family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ashfold research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1506, 1559, 1560, 1569, 1570, 1576, 1578, 1599, 1604, 1620, 1660 and 1690 are included under the topic Early Ashfold History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ashfold Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Ashfold has been recorded under many different variations, including Ashfield, Ashfields and others.

Early Notables of the Ashfold family

Distinguished members of the family include Sir Edmund Ashfield (c. 1506-1578) of Ewelme, Oxfordshire, an English politician, High Sheriff of Berkshire and Oxfordshire (1559-1560), High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire (1569-1570.)Edmund Ashfield (1576-c. 1620), was an English Catholic from Tattenhoe in Buckinghamshire. In 1599 he travelled to Edinburgh to meet James VI of Scotland. He was mistakenly kidnapped by the English Ambassador from England in the belief that Ashfield was an agent of James VI and working to further his succession to...
Another 82 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ashfold Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ashfold family to Ireland

Some of the Ashfold family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ashfold family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Ashfold or a variant listed above: James Ashfield settled in Virginia in 1636; John Ashfield settled in West New Jersey in 1664; and Henry Ashfield settled in Maryland in 1776.

Citations +

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)