Collyrd History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Collyrd is an ancient Anglo-Saxon surname that came from the given name Nicholas. A common diminutive of the name Nicholas was Col. The suffix "ard" was a Norman French suffix that meant "son of." 1

Another source notes that the name could have been derived "from the Anglo-Saxon col, [meaning] a helmet, and heard, hard." 2

And yet another source claims the name could be Norman in origin deriving from Hamon, William, and Geoffry Coillart of Normandy, 1180-95 . 3 Of this latter source, it seems unlikely.

Early Origins of the Collyrd family

The surname Collyrd was first found in Essex and Sussex where they held a family seat from very early times.

"The Collards of Kent may find an ancestor in Simon Colard, who represented Dover in Parliament in the reign of Edward III. Christopher Collard was rector of Blackmanstone in the time of Charles I." 4

The name was "found in Gloucestershire as a personal name, it still remains there as a surname" as shown by the first record of the family, Colard Hariel, Gloucestershire who was listed there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 5

Listings of the name as a personal name continued in the 13th century where Colard le Fauconer was listed in Essex in 1264. It was not until 1332 when Richard Colard was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1332 did records show the name as a surname. 1

Early History of the Collyrd family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Collyrd research. Another 187 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1264, 1595, 1666, 1769, 1772, 1786, 1799, 1800, 1807, 1817, 1831, 1842, 1851 and 1860 are included under the topic Early Collyrd History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Collyrd Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Collyrd has been recorded under many different variations, including Callard, Collard, Collarde, Colard, Colarde, Cullard, Collart, Collerd and many more.

Early Notables of the Collyrd family

Notables of the family at this time include Frederick Willam Collard (1772-1860), English pianoforte manufacturer, son of William and Thamosin Collard, baptised at Wiveliscombe, Somersetshire, on 21 June 1772. He ventured to "London at the age of fourteen, obtained a situation in the house of Longman, Lukey, & Broderip, music publishers and pianoforte makers at 26 Cheapside. In 1799 Longman & Co. fell into commercial difficulties, and a new company, consisting of John Longman, Muzio Clementi, Frederick Augustus Hyde, F. W. Collard, Josiah Banger, and David Davis, took over the business, but on 28 June 1800 Longman and Hyde retired, and...
Another 148 words (11 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Collyrd Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Collyrd family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Collyrd or a variant listed above: Mary Collard who settled in Barbados in 1686; Stephen Collard settled in Maryland in 1737; Thomas Collard settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1822.

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. 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)