| ![Show Contents]() Holderfield History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England Holderfield is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived as tenants or occupiers of land. The surname Holderfield originally derived from the Old English word Haldan. 1 Conversely, another source claims that the name was derived from the Old English word "h(e)aldan," meaning "to guard or keep." It is thought to have been an occupational name for a keeper of animals, but may also have been used in the sense of a holder of land within the Feudal System. 2 Early Origins of the Holderfield familyThe surname Holderfield was first found in Gloucestershire and other counties and shires in Britain. One of the first records of the name was Robert le Holdere who was listed in Gloucestershire in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 1 2 The same rolls list Robert Holdere in Norfolk and Robert le Holdere in Cambridgeshire. 2 Early History of the Holderfield familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Holderfield research. Another 60 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1616, 1631, 1633, 1640, 1642, 1643, 1676 and 1698 are included under the topic Early Holderfield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Holderfield Spelling VariationsSound 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 Holderfield family name include Holder, Holdere, Holders and others. Early Notables of the Holderfield familyDistinguished members of the family include Christopher Holder (c. 1631-1676), an English Quaker minister from Gloucestershire who emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony but was still persecuted for his beliefs before moving to Rhode Island.William Holder (1616-1698), was an English divine, born in Nottinghamshire in 1616. He...
Another 46 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Holderfield Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Holderfield familyFor political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, 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. Early immigrants bearing the Holderfield surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Christopher Holder settled in Boston in 1656, later moving to Newport R.I.; Elizabeth Holder settled in Virginia with her husband, John, in 1638; Nicholas and Meltih Holder settled in Barbados in 1679 with their servants..
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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