Bank History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Bank name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived close to a slope, or a hillside. The surname is derived from the Old English word banke. 1

Early Origins of the Bank family

The surname Bank was first found in various counties and shires throughout Britain. One of the first on record was Simon Bankes of Bank Newton in Craven, Yorkshire c. 1200. Walter del Banck was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of 1297 and Metthew Banke was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk in 1327. 1

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list: Nicholas del Bancke; Adam del Bank; and Magota de Bancke. 2

One branch of the family was found at Winstanley in Lancashire from early times. "In the reign of James I., the manor belonged to James Bancks, a descendant of the Bankes, of Bank Newton, in Craven; in whose family the property continued until about 1731, when, by marriage with the heiress of William Bankes, it passed to the family of Holme, who eventually changed their name to Bankes. Winstanley Hall, existing in the 16th century, is the seat of the Bankes family, and stands in a spacious and delightful park: it has been lately re-edified and improved." 3

Early History of the Bank family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bank research. Another 163 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1410, 1560, 1580, 1586, 1588, 1589, 1590, 1598, 1600, 1606, 1627, 1631, 1637, 1644, 1659, 1668, 1677, 1696, 1699, 1743, 1768, 1784, 1820 and 1973 are included under the topic Early Bank History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bank Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Bank has undergone many spelling variations, including Banke, Banck, Bancks, Banckes, Banks, Bankes and others.

Early Notables of the Bank family

Distinguished members of the family include

Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society; William Bankes, High Sheriff of Lancaster, 1784; Sir John Bankes (1589-1644), Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas to Charles I, who held a family s...
Richard Banke (fl. 1410), was an early English judge, appointed Baron of the Exchequer by the continual council in 1410. 4
? Banks (fl. 1588-1637), was a famous Scottish showman, to whose 'dancing horse' allusion is made by all the best-known authors of his day. "He is stated in 'Tarlton's Jests' (1600) to have originally...

Bank Ranking

In the United States, the name Bank is the 8,006^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Bank migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Bank were among those contributors:

Bank Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Johann Nik Bank, who arrived in America in 1842 6
Heinrich Bank, who arrived in Iowa in 1849 6
Henry Bank, who landed in Iowa in 1849 6
Gustaf Bank, aged 50, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1850 6
Miss Bank, who landed in America in 1853 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Bank 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:

Bank Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Bank, British settler travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Roman Emperor" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 30th March 1863 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Bank (post 1700) +

Melissa Susan Bank (1960-2022), American author who published two books: The Wonder Spot, a volume of short stories; and The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing which won the 1993 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction
Frank Bank (1942-2013), American actor, best remembered for his role as Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford on the television series Leave It to Beaver (1958-1963)
Brigadier-General Carl Conrad Bank (1889-1979), American Commanding Officer 61st Field Artillery Brigade, Germany (1945-1946) 8
Aaron Bank (1902-2004), American soldier, who founded the Green Berets
Raymond W. Bank, American fighter pilot and flying ace in the U.S. Army Air Forces, during World War II, credited with 5 aerial victories
Michael S. Bank, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 10th District, 1972 9
H. B. Bank, American politician, Mayor of Burbank, California, 1956-57 9
Bert Bank, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Alabama, 1956 9
Dr Paul De Bank, English Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutics at the University of Bath

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2011, October 6) Carl Bank. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Bank/Carl_Conrad/USA.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html