Crothair History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

Crothair is an old Anglo-Saxon name that was given to a person who was a person who played a crowd, a stringed instrument similar to a fiddle or six-string violin. This instrument was known as a crouth or croude in Old English, and is still known as a crwth in Wales and as a cruit in Ireland. People in the West of England still refer to a fiddle as a crowdy-kit. 1 Professional musicians of this sort made their livings primarily by playing at medieval fairs and wedding feasts. In Scotland "crowdie" means porridge.

Early Origins of the Crothair family

The surname Crothair was first found in Kent where it is generally understood that the first record of the name was found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1275 as Richard le Cruder. 2 3 A few years later, Hugo le Crouder was listed in Leicestershire in 1278 and Kenwrick le Cruther was listed in the Assize Rolls of Cheshire in 1289. 3 In Yorkshire, Adam le Crouther was listed in 1296 and Katerina Crowder and Thomas Crouder were listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 2

Early History of the Crothair family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Crothair research. Another 104 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1642, 1646, 1830 and 1874 are included under the topic Early Crothair History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Crothair 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. Crothair has been recorded under many different variations, including Crowder, Crowther, Crouder, Crowdder, Crodare, Crowdair, Crowdere, Crowthers, Crouder, Croader, Croather, Crother, Crawther, Craudder, Crauther, Crauder, Craudair, Crothair, Crowthair, Crowthare, Croder, Crouter, Crowter and many more.

Early Notables of the Crothair family

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

Migration of the Crothair family to Ireland

Some of the Crothair family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 33 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Crothair 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 Crothair or a variant listed above: John Crowther who settled in New Hampshire in 1631; Elizabeth James and Mary Crowthers settled in Richmond, Virginia in 1820; Thomas Crowder who settled in Barbados in 1634 and later transferred to the mainland.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)