Coverdall History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The origins of the Coverdall name lie with England's ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when the family lived in Coverdale, a dale in the far east of the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire. 1

While the lion's share of sources note the Yorkshire origin of the family, two sources disagree. One source says "perhaps from Cuerdale, a township in Lancashire" 2 and another notes "from Cuerdale; a location name in Lancashire (?)" 3

Pursuing this line of thought for a moment we find that Cuerdale is a "township, in the parish, and Lower division of the hundred, of Blackburn, union of Preston, N. division of the county of Lancaster. This place belonged to a family of the same name from the earliest times. About the reign of Richard II. it passed by marriage to the Molyneuxs, and since 1582 it has been the property of the Asshetons, of Downham, who formerly resided at Cuerdale Hall, a fine building of red brick with stone dressings, erected in a beautiful situation by William Assheton, in 1700. " 4

Early Origins of the Coverdall family

The surname Coverdall was first found in Lincolnshire, where Reginald de Coverdall was first listed in the Feet of Fines in 1245. More than fifty years later, Thomas de Coverdale was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1297 and one hundred years later, John Couerdale was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 5 William Coverdale of Neweby, was listed in the Patent Rolls of Yorkshire in 1408. 6

Early History of the Coverdall family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coverdall research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1245, 1297, 1379, 1488, 1529, 1535, 1551, 1553, 1568, 1625 and 1809 are included under the topic Early Coverdall History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coverdall Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Coverdall were recorded, including Coverdale, Coverdill, Coverdall, Couerdale and others.

Early Notables of the Coverdall family

Distinguished members of the family include Miles Coverdale (1488-1568), who published his own translation of the Bible in 1535 and was Bishop of Exeter (1551-1553) but lost this position with the accession of Queen Mary. "Whitaker assumes the surname to have been taken from the district of his birth, Cover-dale, in what is...
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Coverdall Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Coverdall family

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Coverdall family emigrate to North America: Thomas Coverdale who arrived in Maryland in 1669.

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)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)