Show ContentsPackard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The story of the Packard family begins in ancient Scotland among the Pictish clans. The Packard family lived in Picardy, a region of northern France. Bearers of the name made their way from Picardy and were "pike men" to England and Scotland. [1] [2]

Alternatively, the name could have been derived from the word "pic" or "pick," which is a Teutonic word for "hard" or "brave." [3]

Not all of the family emigrated to ancient England and Scotland as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae listed Ralph, Engeram, Richard, Peter, Geoffry and Walter Picard in Normandy 1180-95. [4]

"There is a Robert Pichard of about the same date to be found in the Rotuli Curiæ Regis, and the family is said to have been settled in Herefordshire during the preceding century. “That part of Ocle called Ocle Pichard derived its additional name from a family holding it soon after the Norman Conquest. Roger Pichard is mentioned in the Book of Fees made in the reign of Henry III. as holding of the honour of Webbeley." [5]

Early Origins of the Packard family

The surname Packard was first found in Moray, where one of the first records of the family was Hugh Picard, who was a canon of Moray in 1266. A few years later, Stephen Pykard, was a knight of Gilbert de Umfraville, earl of Angus in 1279 and later still, John Pikard was juror on an inquest held at St. Andrews in 1302. Adam le Pycard was a Scottish prisoner of war from Stirling confined in Restormel Castle in 1305. Sir Patrick Picarde was rector of Torry in 1350. [6]

Further to the south, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed: Alan Pichard in Yorkshire; Stephen Picard in Northumberland; Nicholas Pichard, in Shropshire; and Roger Pichard in Cambridgeshire. Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Emma Picard and Ricardus Picard as both holding lands there at that time. [7]

"Miles Picard was uninterruptedly Sheriff of Herefordshire from 1300 to 1306, and twice served as knight of the shire. It was he who, according to Nash, gave its name to Sapy-Pychard in Worcestershire, which he held of Stuteville. Roger Picard, probably his son, was Sheriff in 1318 and 1327, and must have been the last of the name at Ode Pychard, where Peter de Clavenhogh (Clanowe), who succeeded him, had a grant of free warren in 1334. Another Picard served as Sheriff in 1348 and 1349; and in 1356 Sir Henry Picard, Vintner and Lord Mayor of London, gave a great banquet in honour of the battle of Poitiers, at which both the Black Prince and his Royal captive were present. At a second and still more august entertainment, of even greater splendour, he feasted four crowned heads his own Sovereign, and the Kings of France, Scotland, and Cyprus, with a great assemblage of the nobles of the realm. ' And after,' says Stowe, ' the said Henry Picard kept his hall against all comers whosoever that were willing to play at dice and hazard.' " [5]

Early History of the Packard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Packard research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1150, 1350, 1430, 1436 and 1780 are included under the topic Early Packard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Packard Spelling Variations

Translation has done much to alter the appearance of many Scottish names. It was a haphazard process that lacked a basic system of rules. Spelling variations were a common result of this process. Packard has appeared Pickard, Picard and others.

Early Notables of the Packard family

Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Packard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Packard Ranking

In the United States, the name Packard is the 3,141st most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. [8]


United States Packard migration to the United States +

Many Scots left their country to travel to the North American colonies in search of the freedom they could not find at home. Of those who survived the difficult voyage, many found the freedom they so desired. There they could choose their own beliefs and allegiances. Some became United Empire Loyalists and others fought in the American War of Independence. The Clan societies and highland games that have sprung up in the last century have allowed many of these disparate Scots to recover their collective national identity. A search of immigration and passenger ship lists revealed many early settlers bearing the Packard name:

Packard Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Samuel Packard, who arrived in Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1655 [9]
Packard Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Mary and Isaac Packard, who settled in New York, NY in 1822
  • Augusta and Isaac Packard, who settled in Bristol, Rhode Island in 1823
  • James B Packard, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1849 [9]
  • L C Packard, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 [9]
  • S C Packard, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 [9]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Australia Packard migration to Australia +

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

Packard Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Alice Packard, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Asia" in 1851 [10]
  • Charles Packard, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Asia" in 1851 [10]
  • Daniel Packard, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Asia" in 1851 [10]
  • Sarah Packard, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Asia" in 1851 [10]
  • Emily Packard, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Asia" in 1851 [10]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Packard 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:

Packard Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mrs. Emma Packard, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Bernica" en route to Otago via passenger disembarked at Nelson, South Island, New Zealand in December 1848 [11]
  • Mr. Joseph Packard, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Bernica" en route to Otago via passenger disembarked at Nelson, South Island, New Zealand in December 1848 [11]

Contemporary Notables of the name Packard (post 1700) +

  • David Packard (1912-1996), American electronics businessman and electrical engineer, co-founder and co-eponym of Hewlett-Packard Co. in 1939, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
  • James Packard (1863-1928), who with his brother William Packard (1861-1923), American automobile industrialists, founders of the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan in 1899 and the Packard Electric Company
  • William Alfred Packard (1830-1909), American classical scholar
  • Marlboro Packard (1828-1904), American master shipbuilder
  • Elizabeth Packard (1816-1897), American women's rights and mental health activist
  • Damon Packard (b. 1967), American film director
  • Alpheus Spring Packard (1839-1905), American entomologist and palaeontologist
  • Alpheus S. Packard (1798-1884), American educator
  • Vance Oakley Packard (1914-1996), American author and social critic
  • David Packard (1912-1996), American Republican politician;U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, 1969-71
  • ... (Another 26 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


Suggested Readings for the name Packard +

  • The Ancestors and Descendants of Daniel Packard by Ruth Packard Bartlett.
  • Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Landing of Samuel Packard in this Country, August 10, 1638 by Packards Memorial Association.

  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  4. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  5. Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
  6. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  7. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  8. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  9. 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)
  10. State Library of South Australia. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) ASIA 1851 from London 12 05 1851 and southampton with Captain Roskell, arrived Port Adelaide on 1-09-1851. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Asia.htm
  11. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html


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