Butchers History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Butchers is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in England with the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is a name for a person who worked as a "butcher." The name is derived from the Old English root "boucher," or the Old French root, "bouchier." Another possible derivation suggests that the name was given to families who dwelt in the French area of Boursieres. The two names have become confused over time, and the derivation of individual cases is subsequently extremely difficult to determine.

Early Origins of the Butchers family

The surname Butchers was first found in Salop (Shropshire) where they held a family seat after the Norman Conquest in 1066. Anciently the family held lands in Burgundy, to which they gave the name Boursieres. 1

Early History of the Butchers family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Butchers research. Another 241 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1450, 1548, 1549, 1550, 1583 and 1665 are included under the topic Early Butchers History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Butchers Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Butcher, Butchere, Butchers, Boucher, Bucher, Buchere, Boutcher and many more.

Early Notables of the Butchers family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Joan Bocher or Joan Boucher or Butcher (died 1550), an English Anabaptist burned at the stake for heresy. She was arrested...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Butchers Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Butchers family to Ireland

Some of the Butchers family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 83 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Butchers migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Butchers or a variant listed above:

Butchers Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Daniel Butchers, who landed in New York in 1831 2

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
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)