Cheese History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Cheese is from the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name was given to a person who was a cheese-maker or seller of cheese. The surname Cheese is derived from the Old English word cese and the West Saxon word cyse, which both mean cheese. 1 Occupational names frequently refer to the principal object associated with the activity of the original bearer, such as tools or products. These types of occupational surnames are called metonymic surnames. The surname Cheese belongs to this class of names. So as to underline this point, we found Walter le cheser listed in Herefordshire in 1366. 1

Early Origins of the Cheese family

The surname Cheese was first found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 where John Chese, Norfolk; and Hamo Chese, Salop (Shropshire) are listed. 2

Eluding to the possible Norman origin of the name one source notes that the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae lists John Fromage of Normandy, 1195 and that the Hundredorum Rolls of c. 1272 includes an entry for Peter Fromage of England. This same source notes that entries after this point change from French "fromage" to the English term "cheese." 3

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include: Ricardus Chese; and Thomas Chese. 2

Early History of the Cheese family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cheese research. Another 206 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1279, 1332, 1366, 1379, 1500, 1597, 1771 and 1808 are included under the topic Early Cheese History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cheese Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Cheese family name include Cheese, Chese, Chuse, Chouse, Cheser, Chesse and others.

Early Notables of the Cheese family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Cheese, organist of Leominster in 1771, and subsequently organist and professor of the pianoforte in London, published 'Practical Rules for Playing and Teaching the Pianoforte and Organ.' 4...

Cheese migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Cheese or a variant listed above:

Cheese Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Edmund Cheese, who landed in New York in 1832 5
J D Cheese, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 5
Robert Cheese, who landed in Mississippi in 1890 5

Cheese migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Cheese Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Sarah Cheese, aged 18, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "Emily" 6
Edward Cheese, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Abberton" in 1849 7
Sarah Cheese, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Emily" in 1849 6
John Henry Cheese, aged 31, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Stamboul"

Citations +

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)
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)
Grove, Sir George, A Dictionary of Music and Musicians (AD. 1450-1889) London: Macmillan1902, Print, 2 Vols
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The EMILY 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Emily.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The ABBERTON 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Abberton.htm