Auldreth History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Auldreth was formed many centuries ago by the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It was a name typically given to a person noted for giving good counsel 1 or perhaps it was "an Anglo-Saxon personal name." 2

Early Origins of the Auldreth family

The surname Auldreth was first found in Cambridgeshire, at Aldreth, a hamlet that dates back to 1170 when it was listed as Alrehetha in the Pipe Rolls. The name literally means "landing-place by the alders" from the Old English words for "alor" and "hyth." 3 4

However, the surname dates back further and is recorded in the Domesday Book as Ældred, Ældret, Aldret, Eldred, Eldret 5 as holding lands under the Norman King William soon after the Conquest in 1086. 6 In fact, Aldred was a famous ecclesiastic, who was Bishop of York from 1044-1060, and Archbishop of York from 1060-1069, and it was he who crowned the Conqueror.

"Edred or Eadred (died 955) was an ancient Saxon king of the English, youngest son of Eadward the elder and Eadgifu, and was chosen in 946 to succeed his brother Eadmund. At his coronation he received the submission of the Northumbrians, the Northmen, the Welsh, and the Scots. " 7

Aldred the Glossator (10th cent.) was the "writer of the glosses in the Northumbrian dialect which are inserted in the Latin manuscript of the Gospels, known as the 'Lindisfarne Gospels,' or 'Durham Book,' and written about the year 700 in honour of St. Cuthberht. " 7 Aldred (d. 1069), was an early English divine, Archbishop of York who first appears as a monk of Winchester. 7

Early feudal rolls provided the king of the time a method of cataloguing holdings for taxation, but today they provide a glimpse into the wide surname spellings in use at that time. Freqently found in early rolls in Latin, as a forename or in the singular from, we found Aldret de Windegate c. 1145-1165 in Northumberland, Eldredus in 1161-1177 in Herefordshire, Golding Aldred c. 1224 in Clerkenwell, Isle of Man, and William Aldret in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1275. Eilredus de Mannest was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for Kent in 1198, William Eyldred in the Assize Rolls for Kent in 1317, and Maud Aildred was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Essex in 1327. 5

The Excerpta e Rotulis Finium in Turri Londinensi (London) listed Aldred filius Roger and the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Aldred Ander in Cambridgeshire. 8 In Somerset, we found two early records: Nicholas Alrede and William Aired, both listed 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III.) 9

Early History of the Auldreth family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Auldreth research. Another 59 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1198, 1200, 1552, 1561, 1563, 1586, 1588, 1624, 1632, 1646 and 1653 are included under the topic Early Auldreth History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Auldreth Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Auldreth include Aldred, Aldreth, Aldret and others.

Early Notables of the Auldreth family

Notables of the family at this time include John Eldred (1552-1632), an English traveler and merchant. Born in New Buckenham, Norfolk, after his parents moved from Suffolk, he traveled to Tripoli and returned home with a ship full of goods that were sold making him a wealthy man with a large fortune. His son, Sir Revett Eldred, 1st Baronet of Saxham Magna Suffolk (d. c. 1653) held the title but became extinct on his death. Thomas Eldred (1561-1624)...
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Auldreth Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Auldreth family

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants: Robert Aldred, who settled in Virginia in 1635; William Aldred arrived in Philadelphia in 1834 and moved westward.

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.