Ayres History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Family Crest Image (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

The surname Ayres was first used in the Scottish/English Borderlands by an ancient Scottish people called the Strathclyde- Britons. It was a name for someone who lived in the city of Ayr in South-Western Scotland.

Early Origins of the Ayres family

The surname Ayres was first found in Ayrshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Àir), formerly a county in the southwestern Strathclyde region of Scotland, that today makes up the Council Areas of South, East, and North Ayrshire, where the family has held a family seat from ancient times. One of the first on record was Reginald Ayr, who was Clerk of Ayr in 1287 and Albinus Ayr had a charter of lands from King Robert the Bruce in 1315.

Early History of the Ayres family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ayres research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1522, 1567, 1638 and 1712 are included under the topic Early Ayres History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ayres Spelling Variations

The many spelling variations in Medieval Scottish names result from the fact that scribes in that era spelled words according to sound. Translation too, was an undeveloped science, and many names were altered into complete obscurity. Over the years Ayres has been spelled Ayer, Air, Ayre, Ayers and others.

Early Notables of the Ayres family (pre 1700)

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

Migration of the Ayres family to Ireland

Some of the Ayres family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ayres migration to Australia +

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

Ayres Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Robert Ayres, English convict from London, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on October 22nd, 1824, settling in New South Wales, Australia ^[1]
John Ayres, aged 20, a miner, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Switzerland"

Ayres 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:

Ayres Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Rebecca Ayres, (b. 1858), aged infant, English settler from Turvey travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st September 1858 ^[2]
Mr. Thomas Ayres, (b. 1817), aged 41, English bricklayer from Turvey travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st September 1858 ^[2]
Mrs. Elizabeth Ayres, (b. 1819), aged 39, English settler from Turvey travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st September 1858 ^[2]
Mr. Samuel Ayres, (b. 1846), aged 12, English settler from Turvey travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st September 1858 ^[2]
Miss Sarah Ayres, (b. 1851), aged 7, English settler from Turvey travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st September 1858 ^[2]
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Ayres (post 1700) +

Robert Ayres (1914-1968), American film, stage and television actor
Robert Underwood Ayres (b. 1932), American-born physicist and economist
Ian Ayres (b. 1959), American professor at Yale Law School and Yale School of Management
Lewis Frederick "Lew" Ayres III (1908-1996), American actor, best known for starring as Paul in All Quiet on the Western Front
William Orville Ayres (1817-1887), American physician and ichthyologist
Leonard Porter Ayres (1879-1946), American statistician
Agnes Ayres (1898-1940), American silent film actor
Romeyn B. Ayres (1825-1888), Union general in the American Civil War
Benjamin Ayres, American politician, Member of New Jersey State House of Assembly from Cumberland County, 1850-51 ^[3]
Albro Charles Ayres (1907-1981), American Republican politician, Member of South Dakota State House of Representatives, 1951-56 ^[3]
... (Another 35 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Ayres family +

HMS Hood

Mr. Henry D Ayres (b. 1901), English Ordinary Signalman serving for the Royal Navy from West Ham, Essex, England, who sailed into battle and died in the sinking ^[4]

HMS Repulse

Mr. Charles Ayres, British Leading Stoker, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse and died in the sinking ^[5]

Citations +

^ State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1824 with 9 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1824
^ New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
^ The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
^ H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
^ HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html