Britchard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Wales
Ireland

The name Britchard was a Welsh patronymic surname created from the personal name Richard. 1 2 The name was originally ap-Richard, the Welsh patronymic prefix "ap-," meaning "son of." The use of the prefix has disappeared over the course of time.

Early Origins of the Britchard family

The surname Britchard was first found in Glamorganshire (Welsh: Sir Forgannwg), a region of South Wales, anciently part of the Welsh kingdom of Glywysing, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Spelling variations for this name are numerous through the ages. So as to underline this, a look at the Register of the University of Oxford reveals: David Aprycharde, 1521; William Prichard, or Ap-Richard, 1545; 3 and Thomas Prichett, London, 1616. 4

Early History of the Britchard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Britchard research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1632, 1669, 1672, 1681, 1682, 1683, 1704, 1705, 1718, 1750 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Britchard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Britchard Spelling Variations

The Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. It was up to the priest or the scribe taking the official records to determine how the spoken name was to be made literal. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg. Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Britchard have included Pritchard, Prichard, Prickard and others.

Early Notables of the Britchard family

Prominent amongst the family during the late Middle Ages was Matthew Pritchard, O.F.M. (1669-1750) a Roman Catholic bishop; John Pritchett (died 1681), an English clergyman, Bishop of Gloucester (1672-1681). Sir William Pritchard or Prichard (1632?-1705), was an English merchant and politician, Sheriff of London in 1672, Lord Mayor of London in 1682. He was second son of Francis Pritchard of Southwark, and his wife, Mary Eggleston. He is described as 'merchant taylor' and alderman of Broad Street. In 1672 he was sheriff of London, and was knighted on 23 Oct. in that year. On 29 Sept. 1682 be went to the poll...
Another 184 words (13 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Britchard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Britchard family to Ireland

Some of the Britchard family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Britchard family

North America in the 1800s and 1900s saw the arrival of many Welsh people hoping to share in the wealth of land, work, and freedom that they felt North America held. Those who made the journey often attained those expectations, but only through an enormous amount of hard work, perseverance, and often a bout of good luck. These immigrants helped contribute to the growth of industry, commerce, and culture of both Canada and the United States. Discovered in the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Britchard: Charles Pritchard who settled in Virginia in 1663; along with Daniel, Thomas and Pallardary; William Pritchard settled in Maryland in 1734; Thomas Pritchard settled in New England in 1679.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)