Scarrow History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Both the Anglo-Norman invaders and the Irish had their own methodologies and customs for surnames. The Irish, in particular, had a system of hereditary surnames. Although the name Scarrow is a form of the hereditary name, it is an occupational surname, a form more common to the Anglo-Normans. Occupational surnames were derived from a word describing the actual job done by the name bearer. Early Strongbownians often used the French prefix le, meaning the, but the convention quickly disappeared in Ireland. The surname came from a common occupational name for a house keeper or butler. The surname Scarrow originally took the form Scared, which is an abbreviation of Huscared. This in turn is a corruption of Huscarle which means house care.

Early Origins of the Scarrow family

The surname Scarrow was first found in Devon, where they held a family seat after the Norman Conquest in 1066 A.D. They were conjecturally descended from Alfred le Breton, who was granted the lands by William the Conqueror, and was Lord of the manor of Petertavy in Devon.

Early History of the Scarrow family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Scarrow research. Another 121 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1378, 1414, 1415, 1417, 1418, 1491, 1492, 1513, 1531, 1532, 1556, 1557, 1580, 1583, 1594, 1595, 1605, 1606, 1620, 1642 and 1688 are included under the topic Early Scarrow History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Scarrow Spelling Variations

It was found during an investigation of the origins of the name Scarrow that church officials and medieval scribes often spelled the name as it sounded. This practice lead to a single person's being documented under many spelling variations. The name Scarrow has existed in the various shapes: Skerritt, Skerratt, Skerrett, Skerit, Skeret, Scared, Scarrett, Scarrutt and many more.

Early Notables of the Scarrow family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was Richard Scared, Provost of Galway in 1378; Walter Skerrett, Provost of Galway (1414-1415) and (1417-1418); John Skerrett, 7th Mayor of Galway (1491-1492); James Skerrett, Mayor of Galway (1531-1532); William Skerrett, Mayor of Galway (1556-1557); Roland Skerrett, Mayor of Galway (1594-1595); John Skerrett fitz William, Mayor of Galway (1605-1606)...
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Scarrow Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Scarrow 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:

Scarrow Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Scarrow, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840

Contemporary Notables of the name Scarrow (post 1700) +

Shelley Scarrow, Canadian Writers Guild of Canada Award wining and Gemini Award nominated television producer and writer
Simon Scarrow (b. 1962), Nigerian-born, British author, best known for his Eagle Series of Roman Military fiction set
Alex Scarrow, British author, known for his books The Candle man, A Thousand Suns, Last Light, Afterlight and October Skies