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Cumberland History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Cumberland History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Anglo-Saxon name Cumberland comes from when the family resided in the county of Cumberland. As a general rule, the greater the distance between individuals and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, people who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came.

Early Origins of the Cumberland family

The surname Cumberland was first found in Cumberland, a historic county of North West England that existed from the 12th century until 1974. The earliest record of the place was when it was listed as Cumbraland in 945 in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle and literally meant "region of the Cymry or Cumbrian Britons" from the Old English words Cumbre + land. 1

The first record of the family was found here in Cumberland where William de Cumberland was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1191. Some of the family branched to Yorkshire, where William de Cumberlande was registered in the Subsidy Rolls of 1301. 2

Early History of the Cumberland family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cumberland research. Another 42 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1524, 1631, 1648, 1670, 1703, 1705, 1706, 1718, 1732, 1792, 1811 and 1870 are included under the topic Early Cumberland History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cumberland 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. Cumberland has been recorded under many different variations, including Cumberland, Cumbeland, Cumberlande, Comerland and many more.

Early Notables of the Cumberland family

Notables of the family at this time include

Richard Cumberland (1631-1718), an English philosopher and Bishop of Peterborough, born on 15 July 1631, in the parish of St. Bride's, London. "His father was a citizen of Fleet Street. He was educate...
His great-grandson Richard Cumberland (1732-1811), was a dramatist, born on 19 Feb. 1732, in the Master's Lodge at Trinity College, Cambridge. "The bishop's only son, Richard, was Archdeacon of Northa...

Cumberland Ranking

In the United States, the name Cumberland is the 13,818^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Cumberland migration to the United States +

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 Cumberland or a variant listed above:

Cumberland Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Cumberland, who arrived in Virginia in 1705 4

Cumberland Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Stephen Cumberland, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1816 4
Charles Cumberland, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1858 4
William Cumberland who arrived in Philadelphia in 1873

Cumberland migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cumberland Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Robert Cumberland, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750

Cumberland migration to Australia +

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

Cumberland Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Josh. Cumberland, aged 19, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1853 aboard the ship "Macedon" 5
Eliza Cumberland, aged 22, a farm servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship "Admiral Boxer"
John Cumberland, aged 18, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Nimroud"

Cumberland migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Cumberland Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Cumberland, aged 30, a carpenter, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cartvale" in 1874
Fanny Cumberland, aged 24, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cartvale" in 1874
William Cumberland, aged 5, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cartvale" in 1874
Fanny Cumberland, aged 3, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cartvale" in 1874
Clara Cumberland, aged 1, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cartvale" in 1874

Contemporary Notables of the name Cumberland (post 1700) +

Jarron Cumberland (b. 1997), American professional basketball player for the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League (2021-)
Thomas William Cumberland, English football goalkeeper who played in the Football League for Lincoln City (1902-1903)
Kenneth Brailey "Ken" Cumberland CBE (1913-2011), English-born, was a New Zealand geography academic and local-body politician
George Cumberland (1754-1848), English art collector, writer and poet, a lifelong friend and supporter of William Blake
Richard Cumberland (1732-1811), English playwright and civil servant, as a playwrith, he is best known for his hit play The West Indian in 1771; during the American War of Independence he acted as a secret negotiator with Spain
William Augustus Cumberland (1721-1765), English military commander
Nigel Cumberland, British author, leadership coach and mentor, and a founder of The Silk Road Partnership
Harold Vivian "Vic" Cumberland (1877-1927), Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) (1898-1911)
Frederick William Cumberland (1820-1881), English-born, Canadian engineer, architect and politician who represented the riding of Algoma in the 1st and 2nd Ontario Parliaments (1871-1872)
Brigadier Ian Hugh Cumberland, Commanding Officer 5th Canadian Amoured Regiment (1944-1945) 6

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
South Australian Register Tuesday 11 January 1853. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) MACEDON 1853. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/macedon1853.shtml
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, September 15) Ian Cumberland. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Cumberland/Ian_Hugh/Canada.html