Show ContentsCroutch History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Croutch Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Croutch

What does the name Croutch mean?

The present generation of the Croutch family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived near a crossroads. The name is derived from the Old English word crouch, and/or cruc.

Early Origins of the Croutch family

The surname Croutch was first found in Somerset where John atte Crouche was the first listing of the family 1, Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III.) 1

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed: John atte Cruche (no county); Millesenta Cruche, Norfolk; and Robert Cruche, Norfolk. 2

"This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'at the cross,' i.e. the roadside or market-cross, once so familiar a sight at the intersection of the great country thoroughfares, or in the chartered market-steads. Crouch still lingers in our 'crutched' or 'crouched friars.' Langland describes a pilgrim as having 'many a crouch' embroidered 'on his cloke.' Blomefield says of an old Norwich church, 'St. Crowche's was dedicated in honour of the Invention of the Holy Cross, but is now totally demolished; the churchyard is still surrounded with common lanes or passages'." 3

The word crouch "was applied in general to such crosses as stood at the intersection of two roads and although they have long disappeared, they have left the name of 'cross' and 'crouch' upon many localities, especially in the South of England. In Sussex, where the name is one of the oldest indigenous designations (especially in the Cinque Ports) it is found in the forms of Crouch and De Cruce, 20 Edw. I." 4

In Scotland, the name was derived "from a residence at or near a roadside cross or crucifix, ME. crouche. The surname is more English than Scottish. Johannes Crooch witnessed a confirmation charter by Alexander Cumyn, earl of Buchan, to the canons of St. Andrews. John Cruche was burgess of the Canongate, Edinburgh, 1567." 5

Early History of the Croutch family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Croutch research. Another 114 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1607, 1628, 1635, 1660, 1671, 1679, 1681, 1710, 1775, 1780 and 1786 are included under the topic Early Croutch History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Croutch Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Croutch include Crouch, Crooch, Croucher, Croutch, Crowch, Crowcher, Crouche and many more.

Early Notables of the Croutch family

Thomas Crouch (1607-1679), an English academic and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1679. Humphrey Crouch or Crowch (fl. 1635-1671), was an English ballad-writer and pamphleteer, probably belonged to the family of publishers named Crouch, who traded largely in popular literature in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. "Mr. Halliwell-Phillipps has suggested that Humphrey was brother of John Crouch, the Royalist verse-writer. It is equally likely that he stood in the same relation to Edward Crouch or Crowch, John Crouch's publisher, and that he was father or uncle of Nathaniel Crouch [see Burton, Robert or Richard] and of...
Another 310 words (22 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Croutch Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Croutch migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Croutch were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Croutch Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Tho Croutch, who landed in Virginia in 1639 6
  • James Croutch, who arrived in Virginia in 1664 6

Croutch migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 7
Croutch Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Thomas Croutch, who settled in Barbados in 1660
  1. Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
  4. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  5. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  6. 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)
  7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies

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