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The name Curzon was brought to England by the Normans when they conquered the country in 1066. The ancestors of the Curzon family lived in Derbyshire. The family originally lived in Notre Dame de Curson in Calvados, Normandy. 1
The surname Curzon was first found in Derbyshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Curzon. Geraldine (Giraline) arrived in England with William the Conqueror in 1066 A.D., and attended him at Hastings. Giraline de Curson, Lord of Locking, in Berkshire, occurs amongst the most munificent benefactors to the Abbey of Abingdon. From him descended the Curzons of Croxhall. 1
Geraldine came from Notre Dame de Curson in Calvados in Normandy. By 1086, the taking of the Domesday Book survey, his son Hubert had also acquired the lands of West Lockinge in Berkshire. The family also continued in Normandy and Hubert was the Lord of Curson in 1223. 2
Robert of Courson or Courçon (also written de Curson, or Curzon) (c. 1160/1170 - 1219) was an English-born, scholar at the University of Paris and later a cardinal and papal legate.
"The Cursons of Dereham bear one of the oldest of Norfolk names. The ancient family of this name held large estates in the county from the 13th to the 15th century." 3
Kedleston Hall in Kedleston, Derbyshire is one of the most well known family seats the Curzon family who have held the estate since 1297. Today it is a National Trust property. "The large and elegant mansion of Farnah Hall [in Duffield, Derbyshire], a seat of the Curzon family, stands in a fine park, near the Wirksworth road." 4
Robert Curson, De Courcon, De Corcrone or De Curchun (d. 1218), was an early English Cardinal, "born at Kedleston in Derbyshire, was a member of a noble family. He is said to have studied at Oxford, and certainly did so at Paris, where he became a scholar of some eminence, and from Paris went to Rome." 5
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Curzon research. Another 124 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1599, 1609, 1611, 1640, 1648, 1657, 1678, 1682, 1686, 1687, 1727, 1750 and 1765 are included under the topic Early Curzon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Curzon are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Curzon include Curzon, Curson, Cursone, Courson, Courzon and others.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was
Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Curzon, or a variant listed above: