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Origins Available: |
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The surname Heifer was first found in Somerset, where the name first appears in written records in the 14th century. The name Heifer, like many surnames, is an occupational surname, coming from whatever job the first bearer did for a living. In this case, the name is metonymic, coming from an object associated with the job, rather than the name of the job itself; the first bearer of the name was a farmer who herded cattle. A young cow is called a heifer, and it is from this that the name arises.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heifer research. Another 51 words (4 lines of text) covering the year 1327 is included under the topic Early Heifer 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 Heffer, Heiffer, Heffner, Hayfour, Heifers and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Heifer 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 Heifer or a variant listed above were: