Birkhead History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The origins of the Birkhead name come from when the Anglo-Saxon tribes ruled over Britain. The name Birkhead was originally derived from a family having lived near a birch-covered headland. The surname Birkhead is derived from the Old English words bierce, meaning birch, and heafod, meaning head. 1
Early Origins of the Birkhead family
The surname Birkhead was first found in Cheshire, at Birkenhead, a rising sea-port, market-town, and township, in the union, and Lower division of the hundred, of Wirrall. Another branch of the family was found at Backford, a parish, in the union of Great Boughton, partly in the Higher division of the hundred of Wirrall, and partly in the Lower division of the hundred of Broxton.
"During a great part of the 13th and 14th centuries, the manor was held by the Masseys, of Timperley; about the year 1580 it was sold to Thomas Aldersey, by whom it was soon afterwards alienated to the Birkenheads, who resided at Backford Hall until the family became extinct in the male line in 1724." 2
Early History of the Birkhead family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Birkhead research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1350, 1400, 1553, 1560, 1571, 1572, 1590, 1608, 1614, 1616, 1617, 1679 and 1696 are included under the topic Early Birkhead History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Birkhead Spelling Variations
Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Birkhead include Birkenhead, Birkehead, Birkenheed, Birkenhedd, Birkead, Birkinhead and many more.
Early Notables of the Birkhead family
Notables of the family at this time include
- Martin Birkhead (died 1590), an English politician from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Member of the Parliament for Ripon in 1571 and 1572; George Birkhead or Birket, alias Hall, Lambton, and Salvin (c.15...
Birkhead migration to the United States +
A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:
Birkhead Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Joseph Birkhead, who arrived in Virginia in 1664 3
Birkhead Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- T H Birkhead, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 3
- Joseph Birkhead, who settled in Philadelphia in 1860
Birkhead migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Birkhead Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Ellen Birkhead, aged 20, a domestic servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Bee"
Contemporary Notables of the name Birkhead (post 1700) +
- Dannielynn Hope Marshall Birkhead, born Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern, an American child model, tabloid sensation and reality television personality
- Larry Birkhead (b. 1973), American partner of Anna Nicole Smith and the father of her daughter, Dannielynn
- Lieutenant-General Claude Vivian Birkhead (1880-1950), American Commanding Officer of the 61st Field Artillery Brigade (1924-1936) 4
- Martin Birkhead (b. 1590), English politician
- Edith Birkhead, English lecturer in English Literature at the University of Bristol and a Noble Fellow at the University of Liverpool
- Miss Jacqueline Joanne Birkhead R.V.M., British Senior Stud Hand for Royal Studs in Sandringham was appointed the Royal Victorian Medal (Silver) on 17th June 2017
- Timothy Robert Birkhead FRS (b. 1950), British zoologist, and professor of behavior and evolution at the University of Sheffield
- Harry Birkhead (d. 2013), South African philatelist who signed the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists of South Africa in 1982, Fellow of The Royal Philatelic Society London
Citations +
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- 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)
- Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 6) Claude Birkhead. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Birkhead/Claude_Vivian/USA.html