Carus History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Carus has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived in a house which was situated by a marsh. Carus is a topographic surname, which is a type of surname that was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. However, Carus may also be a habitation surname derived from a pre-existing name for a town, village, parish, or farmstead. In this case, the eponymous settlement is Carhouse, in Yorkshire.

Early Origins of the Carus family

The surname Carus was first found in Lancashire, where they held a family seat from the Middle Ages.

Early History of the Carus family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Carus research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1332, 1379, 1547, 1553, 1555, 1572, 1582, 1601, 1619, 1709 and 1808 are included under the topic Early Carus History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Carus Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Carus have been found, including Carus, Cariss, Carass, Cariss, Carass, Karhouses, Carrehuis, Carehuis, Carous, Charus and many more.

Early Notables of the Carus family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Thomas Carus (d. 1572), a prominent judge from Lancashire who served as the Member of Parliament for Wigan in 1547 and for Lancaster in 1553 and 1555...

Carus migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Carus, or a variant listed above:

Carus Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Carus, who arrived in Virginia in 1664 1

Carus Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Christopher Carus, who landed in Virginia in 1716 1

Carus Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Jose Carus, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1868 1

Carus migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 2

Carus Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Carus who arrived in Jamaica in 1684

Contemporary Notables of the name Carus (post 1700) +

Anthony R. Carus, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Queens County 3rd District, 1949-52
Karl Gustav Carus (1789-1869), German scholar

Citations +

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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies