Petegrew History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

The name Petegrew comes from the ancient Norman culture that was established in Britain after the Conquest of 1066. It was a name for a small man. The name was originally derived from the Old French words "petit," meaning "small or little," and "cru," meaning "growth." Alternatively, the name could have be Anglo-French in origin from "pee de grue," meaning "foot of a crane." In this case, it would have been a nickname literally meaning "Crane-Foot." 1

Another source notes the was at one time "Petygrerve," but he believed the name is in reality derived from the manor of Pettigrew, near Gerans, in Cornwall. 2

On this latter source, we feel compelled to add the comments of P.H. Reaney: "The common belief that this name derives from a place in Cornwall is clearly untenable. There is no place of that name in that county, early forms have no preposition, and come from the eastern countries. Nor can the name be identical with 'pedigree' Fr: 'ped de grue' 'crane-foot'. " 3 While we are hesitant to give an added opinion to this squabble, we would add that we too could not find any place so named in Cornwall.

Reaney goes on to note that the first record of the name that he could find was in the Assize Rolls of Essex in 1227 where Andrew Peticruw was listed at that time. Richard and Roger Peticruw was listed in the Assize Rolls of Essex and Staffordshire in 1283 and 1298. 3

Despite the aforementioned, the name is generally understood to have a closer affinity to Scotland than England as we shall explore later.

Early Origins of the Petegrew family

The surname Petegrew was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland, now divided into the Council Areas of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, and the City of Glasgow.

One of the first records of the name was Thomas Petykreu of the county of Lanark, who rendered homage to King Edward I of England in 1296. "John Petty grew witnessed the promulgation of a papal bull at Linlithgow in 1461. A booth was leased to John Pedecrw in 1488 for half a mark, and the same year, as John Pethecrew, he was made a burgess of Lanark." 4

Early History of the Petegrew family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Petegrew research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1497, 1515, 1518, 1791, 1865 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Petegrew History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Petegrew Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Pettigrew, Pettegrew, Pettergrew and others.

Early Notables of the Petegrew family

Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Petegrew Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Petegrew family to Ireland

Some of the Petegrew family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 79 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Petegrew migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Petegrew or a variant listed above:

Petegrew Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Susan Petegrew, who landed in Virginia in 1662 5
Tho Petegrew, who arrived in Virginia in 1664 5

The Petegrew Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Sine sole nihil
Motto Translation: Nothing without the sun.

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
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)