Cranford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The ancestors of the Cranford family lived among the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Cranford was a habitational name, taken on from a place in Bedfordshire named Cranfield, 1 derived the from Old English words "cran," or "crane" meaning "open," and "feld," meaning a "field." 2
Early Origins of the Cranford family
The surname Cranford was first found in Bedfordshire (Old English: Bedanfordscir), located in Southeast-central England. 3 4 The ancient Latin source "Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum" compiled in the reigns of Henry III - Edward I, listed Philippa de Cranefeld, Oxfordshire. 5 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed: Alexander de Crannefeld in Huntingdonshire. 6
Alternatively the name could have originated in Cranford, a parish, in the union of Kettering, hundred of Huxloe in Northamptonshire. In this case, the source "Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum" lists John de Cranniford and Ralph de Craneford, as the first on record. 5 Later the Hundredorum Rolls listed: Geoffrey de Cranford in Devon; John de Cranford in Leicestershire; and Richard de Cranford in Buckinghamshire. 6
Early History of the Cranford family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cranford research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1575, 1592, 1621, 1625, 1645, 1651, 1657, 1674, 1675, 1680, 1682, 1685 and 1696 are included under the topic Early Cranford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Cranford Spelling Variations
Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Cranford has undergone many spelling variations, including Cranfield, Cranefield and others.
Early Notables of the Cranford family
Distinguished members of the family include
- Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex (1575-1645), English merchant and nobleman, Lord High Treasurer in 1621; James Cranford (c.1592-1657), an English Presbyterian clergyman, active as a licenser o...
- James Cranford (1592?-1657), was an English Presbyterian divine, son of James Cranford, master of the free school of Coventry and Dugdale's first instructor, was born at Coventry about 1592. 7
Cranford Ranking
In the United States, the name Cranford is the 3,903rd most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 8 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Cranford is ranked the 761st most popular surname with an estimated 56 people with that name. 9
Cranford migration to the United States +
To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Cranford were among those contributors:
Cranford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- John Cranford, who landed in Virginia in 1653 10
- James Cranford, who arrived in Maryland in 1678 10
Contemporary Notables of the name Cranford (post 1700) +
- Clarence Cranford (1906-2003), American Baptist pastor, church leader, and author
- Bob Cranford, American vocalist and harmonica player
- Ronald Eugene Cranford (1941-2006), American neurologist and expert on comas and unconsciousness
- Michael Cranford, former American game programmer and software engineer
- Roland Cranford, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Mississippi, 1936 11
- L. B. Cranford, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Texas 3rd District, 1922 11
- John Walter Cranford (1859-1899), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Texas State Senate, 1889-94; U.S. Representative from Texas 4th District, 1897-99 11
Citations +
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
- Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- 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/
- The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
- 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, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html