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The name Traver is Anglo-Saxon in origin. It was a name given to a person who collected a toll from travelers or merchants crossing a bridge. This common practice had the purpose of providing financial resources to maintain the upkeep of the bridge. The surname Traver is derived from the Old English words travers, travas, traves, and travis. These are all derived from the Old French nouns travers and traverse, which refer to the act of passing through a gate or crossing a river or bridge. 1
Alternatively the name could have originated in Normandy at Trevieres, between Bayeux and Caen. "The name continued in Normandy, where Ranulph de Chnchamp, after 1138, assumed the name of Travers." 2
"In the time of the Conqueror, Robert de Travers or d'Estrivers, Baron of Burgh-upon-Sands, married the daughter of Ranulph de Meschines, Lord of Cumberland, and the sister of Ranulph Bricasard, who succeeded his cousin Richard d'Abrincis as Earl of Chester in 1119. He received from his father-in-law the office of Hereditary Forester of Inglewood in fee, which passed through his only child, Ibria, to Ralph de Engayne. This forestership of Inglewood was so honourable, and gave so great command, that there is no wonder the family should wish by every means to set forth their claim to it" 3
The surname Traver was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, at Mount Travers, some say before the Norman Conquest in 1066.
The Manor of Skelmerdale in Lancashire proved to reveal some interesting details about the family. According to the Domesday Book, it was originally held by Uctred, who also held Dalton and Uplitherland. Later it was part of the forest fee, held by the Gernet family. "The first of them known to have held it, Vivian Gernet, gave Skelmersdale and other manors to Robert Travers; these were held in 1212 by Henry Travers under Roger Gernet." 4 The manor passed on to the Lovels, but they lost it later after the forfeiture in 1487.
Other early records include Walter de Travers who was listed in Hodgson's History of Northumberland in 1219 and two listings in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273: Hugh Travers in Lincolnshire; and Nigel Travers in Buckinghamshire. Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Robertus Trauers. 5
The township of Nateby was an early home to this distinguished family. "This township is said to have been in the tenure of the family of Travers, of Tulketh, so far back as the reign of Henry I.; Laurence Travers, who lived soon after that reign, was succeeded by eleven generations, and Nateby appears in possession of William Travers in the reign of Elizabeth." 6
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Traver research. Another 127 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1522, 1525, 1532, 1548, 1575, 1578, 1590, 1594, 1598, 1609, 1614, 1635, 1647, 1654, 1659, 1664, 1671, 1677, 1688, 1770, 1796, 1834, 1854 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Traver History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Traver include Travers, Traverse, Travis, Traviss and others.
Notables of this surname at this time include:
In the United States, the name Traver is the 10,407th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 7
Another 137 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Traver were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: