Halstede History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Anglo-Saxon name Halstede comes from when the family resided in Halstead, a place name found in Essex, Kent, and Leicestershire. The place name is derived from the Old English terms heald, which meant refuge or shelter, and stede, which meant place. The name as a whole means "place of shelter," and probably refers to a place which was well sheltered from the elements. The family name would have meant "dweller at a place of refuge." There is a second origin for this name, making it a polygenetic surname. It may also be occupational, referring to a "worker at the hall buildings," or a person who took care of livestock.

Early Origins of the Halstede family

The surname Halstede was first found in Essex where town and civil parish located in Braintree District. The Domesday Book offers two listing for the place Halstead. The first was listed as Haltesteda 1 in Essex, land held by William de Warenne and part of the Hundred of Hinckford. The land held 2 hides (land enough for two households) less 4 acres where 30 free men lived before the Conquest. Over in Leicestershire, the village Elstede 1 was listed in the same reference as land held by the King, part of Allexton and was 3 carucates of land, less 2 bovates; in other words much smaller than the Essex village. 2 To complicate things more, Halstead is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, but this village is not listed in the Domesday Book.

Early History of the Halstede family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Halstede research. Another 94 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1181, 1794 and 1878 are included under the topic Early Halstede History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Halstede 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. Halstede has been recorded under many different variations, including Halstead, Halsted and others.

Early Notables of the Halstede family

Notables of the family at this time include

Ralph Halstede of Suffolk

Migration of the Halstede 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 Halstede or a variant listed above: John Halstead who arrived in New York State in 1775; David, and Joseph Halstead arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1856; George Halsted settled in Virginia in 1731..

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)