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![Show Contents]() Barkenhead History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The Anglo-Saxon name Barkenhead comes from the family having resided near a birch-covered headland. The surname Barkenhead is derived from the Old English words bierce, meaning birch, and heafod, meaning head. 1 Early Origins of the Barkenhead familyThe surname Barkenhead was first found in Cheshire, at Birkenhead, a rising sea-port, market-town, and township, in the union, and Lower division of the hundred, of Wirrall. Another branch of the family was found at Backford, a parish, in the union of Great Boughton, partly in the Higher division of the hundred of Wirrall, and partly in the Lower division of the hundred of Broxton. "During a great part of the 13th and 14th centuries, the manor was held by the Masseys, of Timperley; about the year 1580 it was sold to Thomas Aldersey, by whom it was soon afterwards alienated to the Birkenheads, who resided at Backford Hall until the family became extinct in the male line in 1724." 2 Early History of the Barkenhead familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Barkenhead research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1400, 1553, 1560, 1571, 1572, 1590, 1608, 1614, 1616, 1617, 1679 and 1696 are included under the topic Early Barkenhead History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Barkenhead Spelling VariationsBarkenhead has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Spelling variants included: Birkenhead, Birkehead, Birkenheed, Birkenhedd, Birkead, Birkinhead and many more. Early Notables of the Barkenhead familyNotables of the family at this time include Martin Birkhead (died 1590), an English politician from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Member of the Parliament for Ripon in 1571 and 1572; George Birkhead or Birket, alias Hall, Lambton, and Salvin (c.1553-1614), an English Roman Catholic priest from County Durham who served as the archpriest of England from 1608 until his death in 1614; Henry Birkhead (1617?-1696), an English academic...
Another 67 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Barkenhead Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Barkenhead familyIn an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Barkenheads to arrive on North American shores: Francis Birkenhedd who settled in Barbados in 1635; William Birkenhead settled in Virginia in 1653; Joseph Birkhead settled in Philadelphia in 1860; George Birkinhead settled in North Carolina in 1701.
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
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