Contents [hide]

Scriven History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Scriven History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Scriven was brought to England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Scriven is for a writer to the court. This name comes from the Old French word scriven, which was the title of the person employed to keep official records of trials.

Early Origins of the Scriven family

The surname Scriven was first found in Scriven, a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire. The township comprises about 1598 acres, and includes the villages of Scriven and Tentergate, which latter forms part of the town of Knaresborough. The place name was derived from The Domesday Book 1 entry Scrauing(h) which in turn was derived from the Old English expression "Hollow place with pits" 2

Early History of the Scriven family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Scriven research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1580, 1608, 1609, 1629, 1660, 1688 and 1713 are included under the topic Early Scriven History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Scriven 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 Scriven, Scrivener, Scrivenor, Scrivner and others.

Early Notables of the Scriven family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Matthew Scrivener (1580-1609), an English colonist in Virginia, Colonial Governor of Virginia (1608-1609.) Born in Suffolk, England, he drowned at the age of 28 with eight other colonists, while attem...
Matthew Scrivener (fl. 1660), was an English divine, probably descended of the family of Scrivener of Sibtoft. He became vicar of Haslingfield in Cambridge, and died shortly before 1688. 3

Scriven Ranking

In the United States, the name Scriven is the 14,765^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Scriven family to Ireland

Some of the Scriven family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Scriven 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 Scriven or a variant listed above:

Scriven Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Robert Scriven, who settled in Virginia in 1635
Robert Scriven, aged 18, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 5
Arthur Scriven, who settled in Virginia in 1663
Nathanial Scriven, who settled in Nevis in 1663
Mary Scriven, who landed in Virginia in 1664 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Scriven Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Scriven, who landed in America in 1760-1763 5

Scriven migration to Australia +

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

Scriven Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

William Scriven, English convict from Gloucester, who was transported aboard the "Agamemnon" on April 22, 1820, settling in New South Wales, Australia 6
John Scriven, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on April 1st, 1822, settling in New South Wales, Australia 7
Miss Susan Scriven, English convict who was convicted in Surrey, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" on 20th June 1836, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
James Scriven, aged 33, who arrived in South Australia in 1853 aboard the ship "Ramillies" 9
John Scriven, aged 45, a carpenter, who arrived in South Australia in 1853 aboard the ship "Neptune" 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Scriven migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 11

Scriven Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Scriven, who settled in Barbados in 1665

Contemporary Notables of the name Scriven (post 1700) +

Mary Stenson Scriven (b. 1962), United States federal judge for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
Zebulon Scriven, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Rensselaer County, 1814-15 12
Edward Scriven (1775-1841), English engraver, born, according to his own account, at Alcester, Warwickshire, but his name does not appear in the parish register of that place
Timothy John Adam Scriven (b. 1965), first-class cricketer for Somerset (1988 to 1989)
Paul James Scriven (b. 1966), Liberal Democrat Leader of Sheffield City Council (2008 to 2011)
Henry William Scriven (b. 1951), English Anglican bishop
The Rt Rev Augustine Scriven (1852-1916), Anglican priest, Bishop of British Columbia
Peter Scriven MBE (1930-1998), founding Artistic Director of the Marionette Theatre of Australia
Joseph Medlicott Scriven (1819-1886), Irish poet, best known for his poem "What a Friend We Have in Jesus"
Margaret Croft "Peggy" Scriven -Vivian (1912-2001), British tennis champion

Historic Events for the Scriven family +

Senghenydd colliery

Mr. James Scriven (b. 1868), Welsh coal miner from Senghenydd, Caerphilly, Wales who was working at the Senghenydd colliery when there was an explosion on the 14th October 1913; he died

Citations +

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)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Agamemnon voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1820 with 179 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/agamemnon/1820
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1822 with 190 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1822
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
South Australian Register Tuesday 11 January 1853. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) RAMILLIES 1853. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/ramillies1853.shtml
South Australian Register Wednesday 26 October 1853. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Neptune 1853. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/neptune1853.shtml
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 14) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html