Ascott Surname, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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The proud Ascott family originated in Cornwall, a rugged coastal region in southwestern England. In early times, people were known by only a single name. However, as the population grew and people traveled further afield, it became increasingly necessary to assume an additional name to differentiate between bearers of the same personal name. The manner in which hereditary surnames arose is interesting. Local surnames are derived from where the original bearer lived, was born, or held land. The Ascott family originally lived in Arscott, in Devon. Habitation names form a broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came.

Ascott Early Origins

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The surname Ascott was first found in Cornwall and Devon, where they held a family seat from ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Ascott Spelling Variations

Cornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly, spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of Cornwall and the rest of England. The Cornish spoke a unique Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Arscot, Ascot, Arscott, Ascott, Asscot, Asscott and others.

Ascott Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ascott research. Another 163 words (12 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ascott History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ascott Early Notables (pre 1700)

More information is included under the topic Early Ascott Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

In the immigration and passenger lists a number of early immigrants bearing the name Ascott were found:

Ascott Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Patrick Ascott, who arrived in Virginia in 1651 ^[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Patrick Ascott who settled in Virginia in 1653
John Ascott, who settled in New York, NY in 1661

Ascott Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Ascott, who settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1823

Contemporary Notables of the name Ascott (post 1700)

Shirley Ascott (b. 1930), British sprint canoer at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Leslie Ascott (1921-2013), Canadian CFL football player with the Toronto Argonauts (1940-1953), five-time Grey Cup Champion
Roy Ascott (b. 1934), British artist and theorist, President of the Planetary Collegium

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Citations

^ Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)

Other References

Marcharn, Frederick George. A Constitutional History of Modern England 1485 to the Present. London: Harper and Brothers, 1960. Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds. Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8).
Markale, J. Celtic Civilization. London: Gordon & Cremonesi, 1976. Print.
Egle, William Henry. Pennsylvania Genealogies Scotch-Irish and German. Harrisburg: L.S. Hart, 1886. Print.
Cook, Chris. English Historical Facts 1603-1688. London: MacMillan, 1980. Print.
Robb H. Amanda and Andrew Chesler. Encyclopedia of American Family Names. New York: Haper Collins, 1995. Print. (ISBN 0-06-270075-8).
Colletta, John P. They Came In Ships. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1993. Print.
Leeson, Francis L. Dictionary of British Peerages. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1986. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-1121-5).
Reaney P.H and R.M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X).
Elster, Robert J. International Who's Who. London: Europa/Routledge. Print.
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The Ascott Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Ascott Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.

This page was last modified on 4 January 2014 at 12:24.