Corthorp History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Corthorp is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the village of Courthope in the county of Sussex.

Early Origins of the Corthorp family

The surname Corthorp was first found in Sussex, where "from the reign of King Edward I., this family has been settled at Wadhurst, Lamberhurst, Ticehurst, and the adjoining parishes on the borders of Sussex and Kent." 1

Continuing, the "first [record of the name] occurs in a Subsidy Roll at Wadhurst, co. Sussex, in exactly it's present form [Courthope], temp. Edward I." 2

Early History of the Corthorp family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Corthorp research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1592, 1609, 1616, 1620, 1628, 1632, 1656, 1681 and 1685 are included under the topic Early Corthorp History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Corthorp Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Corthorp family name include Courthope, Curtehope, Courtopp, Courthop and many more.

Early Notables of the Corthorp family

Distinguished members of the family include William de Curtehope, a prominent landholder in 13th century Sussex; and Sir George Courthorpe (1616-1685), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Sussex (1656.) Nathaniel Courthopp (d. 1620), was an English sea-captain in the service of the East India Company who enlisted in the company's service in November 1609, and left England in the Darling, one of Sir H. Middleton's fleet. With his commander and others he...
Another 72 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Corthorp Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Corthorp family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Corthorp surname or a spelling variation of the name include: a number of settlers who arrived in the New World by the 19th century.

Citations +

Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.