Surface History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Surface is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Surface family lived in Stirlingshire, Scotland. The famous Robert William Service (1874-1958) the English-born, Canadian poet and writer was born in Lancashire, England but his family hailed from Lanarkshire, Scotland. His poems "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee" were inspired by his life in the Yukon where he was often called "the Bard of the Yukon."

Early Origins of the Surface family

The surname Surface was first found in Stirlingshire where the "family of this name which may be descended from William Servatur (or le Servetur), burgess of Stirling, who rendered homage, 1296. His seal bears Virgin and Child, S' Wll'i Servatoris. Alisaundre Servays of Roxburghshire also rendered homage, 1296. " 1

We need to take a moment to explain "rendered homage" and the significance of the year 1296. At that time King Edward I of England invaded Scotland and those who were "encouraged" to pay homage to him were recorded thusly. In many cases, there was little choice in the matter, render homage or lose your lands and life.

While the name is generally thought to be Scottish, if we look back further there are significant entries for early spellings in England. In fact, if we look to Normandy, we found the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae listed William, Richard, Walter Cervus, Normandy 1180-95. 2 In France, Servais; was a personal name. 3 However, another source claims the name could have been derived from the Old French cervoise 'ale', for a seller of ale, a taverner. 4

In England, Oxfordshire was one of the first places where early spellings of the family were found. Walter Cerveise was listed there in the Pipe Rolls of 1177 and then later in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1206. A few years later, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1279 also listed Cereveyse, Sereveyse in Oxfordshire. In Berkshire, the Pipe Rolls of 1230 listed William Ceruaise. 4

Early History of the Surface family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Surface research. Another 94 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1673, 1833, 1862, 1866, 1870, 1871, 1877, 1878 and 1884 are included under the topic Early Surface History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Surface 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 Service, Surface, Serfaes, Servas, Servaes, Serveas, Servais, Services, Serfice and many more.

Early Notables of the Surface family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Service (1833-1884), Scottish divine, son of John Service, engraver in the calico works of Robert Dalglish, M.P., at Lennoxtown, was born at Campsie on 26 Feb. 1833. "He was ordained in the church of Scotland in 1862, and for ten months performed ministerial work at Hamilton, near Glasgow. Shortly afterwards he spent eighteen months in Australia owing to failure of health. At the end of the period he was inducted to St. John's Presbyterian church (May...
Another 85 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Surface Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Surface Ranking

In the United States, the name Surface is the 7,119^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5

Surface 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 Surface or a variant listed above:

Surface Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Nichs Surface, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1761 6
Philip Surface, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1763 6
Frederick Surface, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1765 6

Surface Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Elizabeth A. Surface, aged 49, who arrived in Decatur, Illinois, in 1913
Blanche Surface, aged 26, who arrived in Decatur, Illinois, in 1913
Wm. E. Surface, aged 49, who arrived in Decatur, Illinois, in 1913
Cora May Surface, aged 45, who arrived in Oakland, Ohio, in 1914
Ira E. Surface, aged 53, who arrived in Oakland, California, in 1914
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Surface (post 1700) +

W. H. Surface, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from West Virginia, 1944 7
C. W. Surface, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Virginia, 1916 7

Citations +

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)
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)
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
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/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html