Culard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

It was among those Anglo-Saxon tribes that once ruled over Britain that the name Culard was formed. The name was derived 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 Culard family

The surname Culard 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 Culard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Culard 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 Culard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Culard 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 Culard include Callard, Collard, Collarde, Colard, Colarde, Cullard, Collart, Collerd and many more.

Early Notables of the Culard 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 Culard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Culard family

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 Culard were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: 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)