Forwards History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Forwards is from the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name was given to a person who was a swineherd, a person who tended hogs. Checking further we found the name was derived from the Old English elements for, which meant pig or hog, and weard, which meant guard or watchman.

Early Origins of the Forwards family

The surname Forwards was first found in Cheshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Forwards family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Forwards research. Another 71 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1279 and 1797 are included under the topic Early Forwards History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Forwards 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 Forwards family name include Forward, Forwood, Forewood, Foreward and others.

Early Notables of the Forwards family

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

Migration of the Forwards family to Ireland

Some of the Forwards family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 34 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 Forwards family

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 Forwards or a variant listed above: Ambrose and Mary Forward who settled in Virginia in 1735 and later moved to Maryland.