Show ContentsDrivers History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Drivers

What does the name Drivers mean?

The name Drivers was an occupational name for someone who was a "driver" or "drover" for someone who "drove a herd of cattle, especially to distant markets." 1 2 3

Another source goes into more detail: "driver, the driftman; on Moors the man employed to sweep together the colts and horses and cattle and sheep sent out on the commons, to a centre where the owners may claim them." 4

Early Origins of the Drivers family

The surname Drivers was first found in Cambridgeshire where Alice le Driveres was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1279. Later, Gilbert le Drivere was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1283. 5 Both of these entries point to the occupational nature of the name as for the latter, means "Gilbert the Driver."

The Lay Subsidy (Rylands) for Lancashire show William le Dryver, as holding lands there in 1332 and the Writs of Parliament includes entries for John le Drivere and Richard le Drivere, c. 1300. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 lists Johannes Dryver as holding lands at that time. 3

"The name of Driver is well represented in the district of Ely, [Cambridgeshire]. It is also established in Lancashire and Yorkshire. In the 17th century a gentle family of the name resided at Avening, Gloucestershire." 6

Early History of the Drivers family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Drivers research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1279, 1332, 1528, 1558, 1563 and 1667 are included under the topic Early Drivers History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Drivers Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Driver, Dryver and others.

Early Notables of the Drivers family

Alice Driver (born c. 1528), an English martyr from around Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, who was arrested, put to an inquisition and burned at the stake in Ipswich for her adherence to...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Drivers Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Drivers family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Drivers name or one of its variants: James Driver who settled in Barbados in 1635; with his wife Jane, along with sons Robert and Thomas; Thomas Driver settled in Georgia in 1774; Elizabeth Driver settled in Jamaica in 1684.
  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Baring-Gould S., Family Names and their Story. London: Seeley, Service & Co. Limited, 1913. Print
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.

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