| ![Show Contents]() Lofthus History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Lofthus is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the village of Lofthouse during the reign of King Alfred in 900 AD. This place-name was originally derived from the Old Norse words lopt meaning loft and hus meaning house. Therefore the original bearers of the Lofthus surname were dwellers of the loft house. 1 Early Origins of the Lofthus familyThe surname Lofthus was first found in North Yorkshire at Lofthouse, a small village in Nidderdale in the Harrogate district or at Lofthouse, a village in West Yorkshire. "This place, in the Domesday Survey Lochtushum, was granted by the Conqueror to Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, who soon afterwards transferred it to the Percy family, of whom William de Percy, the third Baron, in 1133 founded at Handall, in the parish, a priory for Benedictine nuns, which he dedicated to the Virgin Mary." 2 Early History of the Lofthus familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lofthus research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1573, 1605, 1619, 1620, 1639, 1647, 1691, 1695 and 1797 are included under the topic Early Lofthus History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Lofthus 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 Lofthus family name include Loftus, Lofthouse, Loftis, Loftiss, Loftos and others. Early Notables of the Lofthus familyDistinguished members of the family include - Robert Lofthus of Lofthouse
 Migration of the Lofthus family to Ireland
Some of the Lofthus family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 81 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Lofthus migration to the United States | + |
For 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 Lofthus surname or a spelling variation of the name include:
Lofthus Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Halor Lofthus, originally from Liverpool, who arrived in New York in 1892 aboard the ship "Britannic" from Liverpool & Queenstown 3
Lofthus Settlers in United States in the 20th Century- Hans Lofthus, aged 38, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Conrad Mohr" from Kristiania, Norway 3
| Contemporary Notables of the name Lofthus (post 1700) | + |
- Torstein Lofthus (b. 1977), Norwegian drummer and composer
- Herbrand Lofthus (1889-1972), Norwegian wrestler at the 1912 Summer Olympics
- Anne Lofthus Valla (1932-2003), Norwegian ceramic artist and art teacher
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
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Lofthus migration to the United States 
England
Ireland
