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Heard History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Heard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

Early Origins of the Heard family

The surname Heard was first found in Bavaria, where the name was anciently associated with the tribal conflicts of the area. They declared allegiances to many nobles and princes of early history, lending their influence in struggles for power and status within the region. They branched into many houses, and their contributions were sought by many leaders in their search for power. The most important of these branches was that seated at Grabenstadt who were raised to the rank of cavaliers in 1579.

Early History of the Heard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heard research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1762 and 1813 are included under the topic Early Heard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heard Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Hardt, Hart, Hard and others.

Early Notables of the Heard family

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

Heard Ranking

In the United States, the name Heard is the 1,140^th most popular surname with an estimated 27,357 people with that name. 1

Heard migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Heard Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Heard, who settled in Maine in 1620
Thornas Heard, who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1623 2
William Heard, who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1623 aboard the ship "Anne" 2
Luke Heard, who settled in Massachusetts in 1630
Thomas Heard, who landed in New England in 1631 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Heard Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

George Heard, who landed in Virginia in 1713 2

Heard Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mr. Stephen J. Heard, (b. 1880), aged 19, Cornish miner from Liskeard, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "St Louis" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 29th April 1800 en route to Lead City, South Dakota, USA 3
Carl Heard, aged 32, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1848 2
Daniel Heard, aged 23, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1848 2
Mr. William Heard, (b. 1869), aged 23, Cornish farmer from Launceston, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Teutonic" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 1st June 1892 en route to New York, USA 3
Mr. John Heard, (b. 1853), aged 46, Cornish slater travelling aboard the ship "Paris" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 13th February 1899 en route to Bangor, Pennsylvania, USA 3

Heard migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Heard Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Jacob Heard, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1730
Mr. Edmund Heard U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 4

Heard migration to Australia +

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

Heard Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. George Heard, British Convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Caledonia" on 5th July 1820, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Mr. John Heard, (Crofts), English convict who was convicted in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Eden" on 27th August 1836, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1841 6
Henry Heard, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Platina" in 1839 7
Eliza Heard, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1848 8
Mr. Thomas Heard, (b. 1810), aged 44, Cornish labourer departing from Plymouth on 21st May 1854 aboard the ship "Nestor" arriving in Portland, Victoria, Australia on 16th September 1854 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Heard 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:

Heard Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. John Heard, (b. 1841), aged 23, British farm labourer travelling aboard the ship "Amoor" arriving in Lyttleton, South Island, New Zealand on 1st July 1864 10
Mr. William Heard, (b. 1853), aged 21, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Dorette" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 14th April 1874 10
William Heard, aged 21, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Dorette" in 1874 11

Heard migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 12

Heard Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Susan Heard, who settled in Barbados in 1682

Contemporary Notables of the name Heard (post 1700) +

William Wright Heard (1853-1926), American Democratic Party politician, Louisiana State Auditor, 1899; Governor of Louisiana, 1900-04 13
William W. Heard, American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in Fredericton, 1914; U.S. Vice Consul in Quebec City, 1917; Kingston, 1920-22; U.S. Consul in Turin, 1929-32; Halifax, 1938 13
William Henry Harrison Heard (1850-1937), American politician, Member of South Carolina State Senate, 1876-77; U.S. Minister to Liberia, 1895-98; U.S. Consul General in Monrovia, 1895-98 13
William Henry Heard (1845-1897), American politician, Member of Georgia State House of Representatives, 1890-91 13
Tracy Heard, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 2008; Presidential Elector for Ohio, 2012 13
William E. Heard, American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in Newport, 1884-1905 13
Thomas Jefferson Heard (1801-1876), American politician, Member of Georgia State House of Representatives, 1832-33; Member of Georgia State Senate, 1835-36 13
Stephen Autry Heard (1741-1815), American politician, Member of Georgia State House of Representatives, 1794-95 13
Robert Middleton Heard (1836-1910), American politician, Member of Georgia State House of Representatives, 1884-85 13
Oscar Edwin Heard (b. 1856), American Republican politician, Circuit Judge in Illinois 15th Circuit, 1903-24; Judge, Illinois Appellate Court, 1919-24; Justice of Illinois State Supreme Court, 1924-33 13
... (Another 44 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/caledonia
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th October 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) PLATINA 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Platina.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) BOLTON 1848. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1848Bolton.htm
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_australia_victoria.pdf
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 5th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html