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| Origins Available: |
| | England |
Axefeard is an ancient Norman name that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Axefeard family lived at Axford, in the county of Wiltshire. Checking further we found the name was derived from the Old English words aesc and ford, meaning ash tree and ford.
The surname Axefeard was first found in Wiltshire at Axford, a hamlet in the Kennet Valley which dates back to 1184 when it was listed as Axeford. The place name literally means "ford by the ash-trees," having derived from the Old English words "aesc" + "ford." 1 The family held a family seat at Ramsbury from ancient times. Today, Ramsbury is a village and civil parish that includes the hamlet Axford. It was originally spelt Ramesberrie. Ramsbury at the time of the Domesday Book was one of the larger holdings in the county of Wiltshire and consisted of 10 Mills. It was held by the Bishop of Salisbury. It also included Axford's Farm, from which the Axford family name is conjecturally descended. Axford's Farm is noted for its water mill. Axford is also a village in Hampshire, part of the civil parish of Nutley.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Axefeard research. Another 42 words (3 lines of text) covering the year 1216 is included under the topic Early Axefeard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Axford, Acksford, Ackford and others.
More information is included under the topic Early Axefeard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Axefeard or a variant listed above: Ephraim Axford who settled in Virginia in 1670; Richard Axford who landed in Maryland in 1660; William Hawksford settled in Maryland in 1775.