Crafte History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

The Anglo-Saxon name Crafte comes from when the family resided in an area that was near the croft.The surname is the northern form of Croft and it's literal meaning is the area of arable land that was located by a cottage that was worked on by the farmer. 1 2

"It may also sometimes be from Anglo-Saxon cræfta, a craftsman, or the same as the German names Craft, Crafto, Kraft; probably from kraft, strength, force, power. Ferguson mentions an Old German Crafto as the name of a member of a noble family in the twelfth or thirteenth century." 3

Early Origins of the Crafte family

The surname Crafte was first found in Essex, where Aluric Craft was listed as a Knights Templar in 1185. Almost one hundred years later, Basil Craft was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1283. 4

Over in Warwickshire, Roger de Craft was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1213 and the same rolls listed de Croft (no forename) in 1214. Later, the Assize Rolls of 1222 included Robert de Craft in 1222. 4

Roger de Crafte, Bedfordshire, was listed there Henry III-Edward I: Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. 5

Early History of the Crafte family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Crafte research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1185, 1213, 1222, 1275, 1283, 1620, 1774, 1786, 1787, 1795, 1802, 1805, 1862 and 1865 are included under the topic Early Crafte History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Crafte Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Crafte has been recorded under many different variations, including Craft, Crafte, Craftin, Crafton and others.

Early Notables of the Crafte family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Roger de Craft, a prominent 13th century landholder in Warwickshire. William H. Craft (d. 1805?), the English enamel-painter, a prolific artist, was employed at the Battersea enamel works. He was probably a relation, perhaps a son, of Thomas Craft, who was employed at the porcelain works at Bow, and executed the bowl now in the British Museum, to which he affixed an account of its production, rendering it one of the few pieces of Bow China that have been authenticated. William Craft exhibited numerous enamels at the Royal Academy in the years 1774-1795. They...
Another 163 words (12 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Crafte Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Crafte family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Crafte or a variant listed above: Griffin Crafts, his wife Alice Crafts and their daughter who arrived in Massachusetts in 1630; Bridget Craft who arrived in Virginia in 1635; Thomas Craftin, who arrived in Virginia in 1637.

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)