Fast History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Early Origins of the Fast family
The surname Fast was first found in Norfolk at the coastal town of Yarmouth (Great Yarmouth.) Fastolf was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 and later in 1291, Alexander, and William Fastolf were listed in the Feet of Fines of Suffolk. 1 Thomas Fastolf of Reedham and Great Yarmouth was one of the first records of the name. He was father to Nicholas Fastolf (died 1330), an English judge who is generally thought to have been the first judge to hold the office of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland and Thomas Fastolf (Fastolfe) who died in 1361, an English canon lawyer and Bishop of St David's.
Early History of the Fast family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fast research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1352, 1361, 1380 and 1459 are included under the topic Early Fast History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Fast 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 Fast has undergone many spelling variations, including Fastalf, Fastoff, Fastolf, Fastoff, Fastolfe and others.
Early Notables of the Fast family
Distinguished members of the family include
- Sir John Fastolf of Caister-on-Sea
Fast Ranking
In the United States, the name Fast is the 6,550th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2
Fast 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 Fast were among those contributors:
Fast Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- Elias Fast, aged 26, who arrived in America in 1854 3
- Elias Petersson Fast, aged 26, who landed in America in 1854 3
- Joh Fast, aged 22, who arrived in New York, NY in 1873 3
- Gerha Fast, aged 53, who landed in New York, NY in 1874 3
- Camel Fast, aged 25, who arrived in New York, NY in 1874 3
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Fast Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
- Michael Fast, aged 36, who arrived in New York, NY in 1906 3
Fast migration to Canada +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Fast Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
- Cornelius Fast, who landed in Manitoba in 1874
- Heinrich Fast, who landed in Manitoba in 1874
- Jacob Fast, who arrived in Manitoba in 1876
Contemporary Notables of the name Fast (post 1700) +
- W. J. Fast, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Mississippi, 1920 4
- S. H. Fast, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Virginia 9th District, 1994 4
- Richard E. Fast, American politician, Member of West Virginia State Senate 11th District, 1897-1900 4
- Orlando J. Fast (b. 1838), American Republican politician, Member of Michigan State Senate 10th District, 1883-84 4
- Howard Melvin Fast (1914-2003), American politician 4
- Becky Fast, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kansas, 1996, 2004 4
- Ernst Fast (1881-1959), Swedish Olympian who won bronze for a marathon at the 1900 Summer Games
Historic Events for the Fast family +
- Mr. Raymond J Fast, British Shipwright 4th Class, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 5
Citations +
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- 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 2016, March 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
- HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html