Arras History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The family name Arras is believed to be descended originally from the Norman race. The Normans were commonly believed to be of French origin but were, more accurately, of Viking origin. The Vikings landed in the Orkneys and Northern Scotland about 870 AD, under their King, Stirgud the Stout. Later, under their Jarl, Thorfinn Rollo, they invaded France about 911 AD. The French King, Charles the Simple, after Rollo laid siege to Paris, finally conceded defeat and granted northern France to Rollo. Rollo became the first Duke of Normandy. Duke William, who invaded and defeated England in 1066, descended from the first Duke Rollo of Normandy. The Arras name is a reference to Artois, France, where the family lived prior to emigrating to Scotland.
Early Origins of the Arras family
The surname Arras was first found in Staffordshire, where they were Lords of the manor of Arras from early times. They were descended from Bagod of Arras who was descended from the Carloviginian, Count of Artois. Sir Robert Arras held the village of Bromley in that shire from Robert De Toeni, he was Lord of the manor of Arras in Buckinghamshire. But the main branch of the family moved north into Scotland in the train of King David I of Scotland about 1130, who granted them lands in Dumfries.
Early History of the Arras family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Arras research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1296, 1332, 1525 and 1565 are included under the topic Early Arras History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Arras Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Arris, Aris, Ariss, Arras, Arres, Arros, Arrows, Arowes, Arwys, Arrarous, Arrous and many more.
Early Notables of the Arras family
Notable among the family at this time was
Arras migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Arras Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Nicholas Arras, who settled in Virginia in 1623
Arras Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Konr Arras, who landed in America in 1853 1
- William Arras, who arrived in St Clair County, III in 1857 1
- Charles Arras, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1860
Arras 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:
Arras Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- Mr. Wilhelm Arras, (b. 1851), aged 19, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 23rd December 1870 2
Contemporary Notables of the name Arras (post 1700) +
- Wim Arras (b. 1964), former Belgian cyclist
Citations +
- 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)
- New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html