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Kroft is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in an area that was near the croft.The surname is the northern form of Croft and it's literal meaning is the area of arable land that was located by a cottage that was worked on by the farmer. 1 2
"It may also sometimes be from Anglo-Saxon cræfta, a craftsman, or the same as the German names Craft, Crafto, Kraft; probably from kraft, strength, force, power. Ferguson mentions an Old German Crafto as the name of a member of a noble family in the twelfth or thirteenth century." 3
The surname Kroft was first found in Essex, where Aluric Craft was listed as a Knights Templar in 1185. Almost one hundred years later, Basil Craft was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1283. 4
Over in Warwickshire, Roger de Craft was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1213 and the same rolls listed de Croft (no forename) in 1214. Later, the Assize Rolls of 1222 included Robert de Craft in 1222. 4
Roger de Crafte, Bedfordshire, was listed there Henry III-Edward I: Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. 5
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kroft research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1185, 1213, 1222, 1275, 1283, 1620, 1774, 1786, 1787, 1795, 1802, 1805, 1862 and 1865 are included under the topic Early Kroft History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Kroft family name include Craft, Crafte, Craftin, Crafton and others.
Notables of this surname at this time include: Roger de Craft, a prominent 13th century landholder in Warwickshire.
William H. Craft (d. 1805?), the English enamel-painter, a prolific artist, was employed at the Battersea enamel works. He was probably a relation, perhaps a son, of Thomas Craft, who was employed at the porcelain works at Bow, and executed the bowl now in the British Museum, to which he affixed an account of its production, rendering it one of the few pieces of Bow China that have been authenticated. William Craft exhibited numerous enamels at the Royal Academy in the years 1774-1795. They...
Another 163 words (12 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kroft Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Kroft surname or a spelling variation of the name include: