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The name Furrand comes from the ancient Norman culture that was established in Britain after the Conquest of 1066. It was a name for a person with gray hair, or who habitually dressed in gray. Checking further we found the name was derived from the Old French word, ferrant, which means gray (a reference to the color of iron). Another derivation suggests that the name is a corruption of Ferrant, the Old French form of Ferdinand. Time has confused the different derivations, and it is now extremely difficult to tell which is appropriate in a given situation.
The surname Furrand was first found in Yorkshire where they were granted lands by William the Conqueror and appointed to the Wardenship of Skipton Castle, for the Cliffords, the chief tenants shown in the Domesday Book. They were under the protection and patronage of the ancient Earl of Albermarle.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Furrand research. Another 175 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1510, 1651 and 1850 are included under the topic Early Furrand History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Ferrant, Ferrand, Ferand, Ferrante and others.
More information is included under the topic Early Furrand Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Furrand or a variant listed above were: Phillip Ferrant arrived in Virginia in 1654; George Ferand arrived at Providence R.I. in 1823; John Andrew Ferand arrived in Philadelphia in 1797; Benjamin arrived in New York in 1812.