Massey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  England 
  France 
  Ireland 


The name Massey arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Massey family lived in Cheshire. Their name, however, is a reference to their place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Macey in Manche, Normandy. 1

Early Origins of the Massey family

The surname Massey was first found in Cheshire where the one of the first records of the name was "Hugh Massie, who married Agnes, daughter and heir of Nicholas Bold, of Coddington. Their son William purchased the manor of Coddington in the eighteenth of Henry VI." 2

A branch of the family held a family seat at Backford since early times. "During a great part of the 13th and 14th centuries, the manor [of Backford] was held by the Masseys, of Timperley; about the year 1580 it was sold to Thomas Aldersey." 3

Birkenhead in Cheshire was another ancient family seat. "A priory for sixteen Benedictine monks was founded [in Birkenhead] about 1150, in honour of St. Mary and St. James, by Hamon de Massey, third Baron of Dunham-Massey." 3

Little is known of Hamon de Massey other than he held manors of Agden, Baguley, Bowdon, Dunham, Hale and Little Bollington. He is thought to have born in La Ferté-Macé, in the Orne department in north-western France.

Early History of the Massey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Massey research. Another 157 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1557, 1602, 1619, 1646, 1651, 1674, 1691, 1715, 1719, 1757, 1758, 1763, 1764, 1784, 1797, 1799, 1804, 1822, 1839, 1869 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Massey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Massey Spelling Variations

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 Massey, Massie, Macy, Macey and others.

Early Notables of the Massey family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Massey Ranking

In the United States, the name Massey is the 469th most popular surname with an estimated 59,688 people with that name. 4 However, in the United Kingdom, the name Massey is ranked the 577th most popular surname with an estimated 11,333 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Massey family to Ireland

Some of the Massey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 89 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Massey migration to the United States +

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 Massey or a variant listed above were:

Massey Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
Massey Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
Massey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Massey migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Massey Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
Massey Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Massey migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Massey Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Massey migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Massey Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Massey migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 16
Massey Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Massey (post 1700) +


Suggested Readings for the name Massey +
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