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March History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

March History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

The name March came to England with the ancestors of the March family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The March family lived on the border between two territories, such as the Marches between England and Wales or on the English Scottish borders. The name may also have emerged as a nickname for someone born in the month of March.

Early Origins of the March family

The surname March was first found in Cambridgeshire at March, a market town and civil parish in the Isle of Ely area in the parish of Doddington, union and hundred of North Witchford. The town lies on the course of the Fen Causeway, a Roman road, and there is evidence of Roman settlements in the area. "Between this town and Wisbech, urns inclosing burnt bones, and a vessel containing 160 Roman denarii of different emperors, were discovered in the year 1730." 1 Listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Merche 2, it derives its name from the Old English word "mearc." 3 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Henry le March and William le March, both in Cambridgeshire; and Philip le march in Oxfordshire. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list: Johannes de la Marche; Ricardus del Marche; and Agnes del Marche. 4 William de la Marche was listed in Cheshire in 1295. 5

Early History of the March family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our March research. Another 94 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1334, 1336, 1338, 1380, 1410, 1413, 1430 and 1473 are included under the topic Early March History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

March Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled March, Marche and others.

Early Notables of the March family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Pere March (1336/1338-1413), a Valencian poet, family had been lawyers and officers of the court of the kingdom of Aragon, undertook several important diplomatic missions, traveling to England for the...

March Ranking

In the United States, the name March is the 2,938^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 6 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name March is ranked the 149^th most popular surname with an estimated 260 people with that name. 7

March migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name March or a variant listed above:

March Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Samuel March, who settled in Virginia in 1623 arriving on the ship "William & Thomas"
Mrs. Collice March, who landed in Virginia in 1623 aboard the ship "Anne" wife of Samuel. 8
Eliabeth March, who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1623 8
John March, who settled in Charles Town Massachusetts in 1630
Hugh March, aged 20, who arrived aboard the ship "Confidence" in 1638 in New England and Boston stated, found in Newbury. 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

March Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jean March, who landed in Jamestown, Va in 1700 8
Richard March, who landed in Virginia in 1701 8
Elizabeth March, who landed in New England in 1712 8
Jerick Hendrick March, aged 20, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1733 8
Jurigh Heinrich March, aged 20, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1733 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

March Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Charles March, who arrived in New York, NY in 1815 8
Charles March, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1815 8
Anthony March, aged 19, who arrived in America in 1821 8
Anthony March, aged 19, settled in Waldoboro, Massachusetts, in 1821
John March, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1838 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

March migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

March Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Nathan March, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Robert March, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750

March migration to Australia +

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

March Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John March, British Convict who was convicted in Sussex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
Mr. Richard March, (b. 1775), aged 53, English ploughman who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life for theft, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 29th April 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1848 10
Mr. John March who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Circassian" on 4th November 1832, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 11
Miss Mary March, English convict who was convicted in Warwickshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Fanny" on 14th July 1832, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
Mr. George March, English convict who was convicted in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Augusta Jessie" on 27 September 1834, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 13
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

March 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:

March Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. James March, (b. 1835), aged 20, British shepherd travelling from London aboard the ship "Grasmere" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 4th May 1855 14
Samuel March, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alma" in 1857
Emma March, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alma" in 1857
Eliza March, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alma" in 1857
Esther March, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alma" in 1857
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name March (post 1700) +

Stephanie Caroline March (b. 1974), American actress, best known for her role as Alexandra Cabot on the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Kevin March, American drummer, record producer, and songwriter
Kevin P. March, American business executive, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice-President of Texas Instruments
Brigadier-General Francis Andrew March (1895-1967), American Professor of Military Science & Tactics, Ohio State University (1946-1947) 15
Peyton C March Jr. (1896-1918), American Army pilot, son of Peyton C. March
Major General Peyton C March (1864-1955), American Army Chief of Staff, son of Francis Andrew March 16
Fredric March (1897-1975), born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel, two-time American Academy Award and Tony award winning stage and screen actor, the only actor to win both the Academy Award and the Tony Award twice
Francis Andrew March (1825-1911), American polymath, academic, philologist, and lexicographer
James G March, American professor at several universities, including at Stanford from 1970-1995
Joseph Moncure March (1899-1977), American poet
... (Another 33 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the March family +

RMS Titanic

Mr. John Starr March (d. 1912), aged 50, American Postal Clerk from Newark, New Jersey who worked aboard the RMS Titanic, died in the sinking and was recovered by CS Mackay-Bennett 17

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th April 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 8th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/circassian
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 29th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fanny
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/augusta-jessie
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2013, February 12) Francis March. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/March/Francis_Andrew/USA.html
Peyton March. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) Peyton March. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peyton_C._March
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html