Cerforthe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The lineage of the name Cerforthe begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in a valley or at the foot of a hill. Cerforthe is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties.

Early Origins of the Cerforthe family

The surname Cerforthe was first found in Yorkshire where Ricardus de Kerfforth was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. A very rare name, we must look to 1572 to find the next record, that of Margarette Kyrfote, of Bolhngton who appears in the Reg. Prestbury, Cheshire at that time. A few years later, John Kirfoote, or Kyerfoote, Cheshire appears in the Register of the University of Oxford in 1583. 1

Early History of the Cerforthe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cerforthe research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1661, 1664, 1688 and 1741 are included under the topic Early Cerforthe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cerforthe Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Cerforthe has undergone many spelling variations, including Kerfoot, Kerford, Kerfont, Kerfut, Kerriford and many more.

Early Notables of the Cerforthe family

More information is included under the topic Early Cerforthe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cerforthe family to Ireland

Some of the Cerforthe family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Cerforthe family

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Cerforthe were among those contributors: Thomas Kerfitt, who settled in Virginia in 1624; and Elizabeth Kerfoote, who sailed to Virginia in 1637.

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)