Cansfield History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Cansfield is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in England with the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Cansfield family lived in Yorkshire. The Cansfield family descended from Richard de Camville, who owned estates in both England and France after the invasion in 1066, and gave his name to the area of Yorkshire in which his family settled. In the centuries following the Conquest of England by the Normans, the languages of the natives and their conquerors intermingled and the surname Camville changed to the more English sounding Canfield.

Early Origins of the Cansfield family

The surname Cansfield was first found in Yorkshire where they had been granted lands by William the Conqueror for their assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. Today, Great Canfield is a village and a civil parish in the Uttlesford District of Essex, home to the Great Canfield Castle. Little Canfield is a village and a civil parish which is also located in Essex.

Early History of the Cansfield family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cansfield research. Another 161 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1455, 1563 and 1611 are included under the topic Early Cansfield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cansfield Spelling Variations

Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents. The name has been spelled Canfield, Camville, Canville, Canfeld, Cannfield, Camnville and many more.

Early Notables of the Cansfield family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Benedict Canfield (1563-1611) Capuchin friar, whose real name was William Fitch, the second son of William Fitch, owner of the manor of Little Canfield in...
Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Cansfield Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cansfield family

To escape the political and religious persecution within England at the time, many English families left for the various British colonies abroad. The voyage was extremely difficult, though, and the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving. But for those who made it, the trip was most often worth it. Many of the families who arrived went on to make valuable contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Cansfield or a variant listed above: Matthew Canfield and his brother Thomas landed in North America in 1620 and settled in New Haven. Matthew was a representative at the General Court in 1654 until the union of the Connecticut and New Haven colonies, and Thomas was one of the first settlers of Milford in 1646..

Contemporary Notables of the name Cansfield (post 1700) +

Donna H. Cansfield (b. 1945), Canadian former politician from Alberta, Liberal member in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2014
Colonel William Cansfield Gerard DSO (b. 1851), 2nd Baron Gerard, a British Army officer and nobleman