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Crafts History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Crafts History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancestry of the name Crafts dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in an area that was near the croft.The surname is the northern form of Croft and it's literal meaning is the area of arable land that was located by a cottage that was worked on by the farmer. 1 2

"It may also sometimes be from Anglo-Saxon cræfta, a craftsman, or the same as the German names Craft, Crafto, Kraft; probably from kraft, strength, force, power. Ferguson mentions an Old German Crafto as the name of a member of a noble family in the twelfth or thirteenth century." 3

Early Origins of the Crafts family

The surname Crafts was first found in Essex, where Aluric Craft was listed as a Knights Templar in 1185. Almost one hundred years later, Basil Craft was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1283. 4

Over in Warwickshire, Roger de Craft was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1213 and the same rolls listed de Croft (no forename) in 1214. Later, the Assize Rolls of 1222 included Robert de Craft in 1222. 4

Roger de Crafte, Bedfordshire, was listed there Henry III-Edward I: Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. 5

Early History of the Crafts family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Crafts research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1185, 1213, 1222, 1275, 1283, 1620, 1774, 1786, 1787, 1795, 1802, 1805, 1862 and 1865 are included under the topic Early Crafts History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Crafts Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Crafts have been found, including Craft, Crafte, Craftin, Crafton and others.

Early Notables of the Crafts family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Roger de Craft, a prominent 13th century landholder in Warwickshire.William H. Craft (d. 1805?), the English enamel-painter, a prolific artist, was employed at the Battersea enamel works. He was probably a relation, perhaps a son, of Thomas Craft, who was employed at the porcelain works at Bow, and executed the bowl now in the British Museum, to which he affixed an account of its production, rendering it one of the few pieces of Bow China that have been authenticated. William Craft exhibited numerous enamels at the Royal Academy in the years 1774-1795. They...
Another 163 words (12 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Crafts Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Crafts Ranking

In the United States, the name Crafts is the 18,750^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Crafts migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Crafts, or a variant listed above:

Crafts Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Griffin Crafts who sailed from Isle of Wight arriving in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet, found in Roxbury.
Mrs. Alice Crafts, who sailed from Isle of Wight arriving in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet, found in Roxbury. 7
Miss Hannah Crafts who sailed from Isle of Wight arriving in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet, found in Roxbury. 7
Elizabeth Crafts, who arrived in Maryland in 1661 8
Peter Crafts, who arrived in Maryland in 1673 8

Crafts Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Lydia Crafts, who landed in New England in 1704 8

Crafts Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas S Crafts, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 8
G W Crafts, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 8
I B Crafts, who arrived in Iowa in 1887 8

Crafts migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Crafts Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Samuel Crafts, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749-1752
William Crafts, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749-1752

Crafts migration to Australia +

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

Crafts Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Crafts, English convict who was convicted in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Dromedary" on 11th September 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1834 9
Joseph Crafts, English convict from Northampton, who was transported aboard the "Adelaide" on August 08, 1849, settling in Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip, Australia 10

Crafts 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:

Crafts Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Horace H. Crafts, aged 25, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rangitikei" in 1884
Sarah A. Crafts, aged 23, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rangitikei" in 1884
Emma Crafts, aged 2, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rangitikei" in 1884
Nellie Crafts, aged 5 mths., who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rangitikei" in 1884

Contemporary Notables of the name Crafts (post 1700) +

Thomas Crafts, American politician, U.S. Consul in Bordeaux, 1797-99 11
Samuel Chandler Crafts (1768-1853), American politician, Representative from Vermont, 1817-25; Governor of Vermont, 1828-31; Presidential Elector for Vermont, 1840; U.S. Senator from Vermont, 1842-43 11
Roswell P. Crafts, American politician, Mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, 1877, 1882-83 11
Lyman A. Crafts, American Republican politician, Member of Massachusetts State House of Representatives Third Franklin District, 1905 11
Erastus Crafts, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Otsego County, 1809-10, 1812-14 11
Dale Crafts, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Maine, 2008 11
Clayton E. Crafts, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1892 11
Chauncey Crafts, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Woodbury, 1823 11
Byron H. Crafts, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for supervisor of Leoni Township, Michigan, 1919 11
Arthur A. Crafts, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Maine, 1932, 1936 (alternate) 11
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved January 6th 2023 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
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 16th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dromedary
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 17) Adelaide voyage to Van Diemen's Land and Port Phillip, Australia in 1849 with 303 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adelaide/1849
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html