Barford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Barford

What does the name Barford mean?

The name Barford is rooted in the ancient Norman culture that arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It was a name for someone who was a person who was in the habit of going without shoes. Friars, pilgrims, and people doing penance often went shoeless. The Barford(e) variation was likely derived from one of the many places in England so named in Hampshire, Norfolk, Warwickshire and Bedfordshire.

Early Origins of the Barford family

The surname Barford was first found in various counties and shires throughout Britain. Some of the first records of the name appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 and they include: Norman Barfot in Lincolnshire; Robert Barefot in Oxfordshire; and Alan Barefot in Cambridgeshire. 1

Henry de Bereford was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1204 and in Yorkshire, William de Bereford was listed there in 1325 and later John Berford was listed there in 1419. 2

Doora Barefield, or Doora and Kilraghtis, is a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe, in County Clare, Ireland.

Early History of the Barford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Barford research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1180, 1400, 1655, 1685, 1686 and 1688 are included under the topic Early Barford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Barford Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Barefoot, Barfoot, Barfitt, Barfit, Barford, Barefield, Barefred, Barefoote and many more.

Early Notables of the Barford family

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

Barford migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Barford or a variant listed above were:

Barford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Barford, who landed in Maryland in 1663 3
Joyce Barford, who arrived in Maryland in 1663 3

Barford Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Barford in Virginia in 1775

Barford migration to Australia +

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

Barford Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Barford, Irish convict who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for life, transported aboard the "Boyd" on 10th March 1809, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
J.R. Barford, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Isabella Watson" in 1846 5

Barford 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:

Barford Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. James Barford, (b. 1834), aged 19, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Egmont" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 23rd December 1853 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Barford (post 1700) +

Ann Barford, American former female rugby union player who was member of the 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup champion squad
Ian Barford, American stage and television actor, known for Road to Perdition (2002), 13 Going on 30 (2004) and U.S. Marshals (1998)
William Barford (d. 1792), English scholar and Anglican clergyman 7
John Leslie Barford (1886-1937), English Ukrainian poet who wrote under the pseudonym of Philebus, best known for his works Ladslove Lyrics (1918), Young Things (1921), Fantasies (1923) and Whimsies (1934)
Sir Leonard Barford (b. 1908), Deputy Chairman, Horserace Totalisator Board
David Barford FRS, British medical researcher, and Professor of Molecular Biology, Fellow of the Royal Society in 2006, Colworth Medal of the Biochemical Society in 1998
Serie Barford, New Zealand performance poet from Te Atatu
Vernon Barford (1876-1963), Canadian (English born) photographer, musician, organist, choirmaster and teacher

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Boyd
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ISABELLA WATSON 1846. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1846IsabellaWatson.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 6 June 2019