Elm History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The present generation of the Elm 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 as dwellers by the elms. The name means at the elms from the residence beside a clump of elm-trees.

Early Origins of the Elm family

The surname Elm was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Elm family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Elm research. Another 178 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1316, 1317, 1339, 1356, 1646 and 1705 are included under the topic Early Elm History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Elm 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 Elm include Elms, Elmes and others.

Early Notables of the Elm family

Notables of the family at this time include

Thomas Elmes of Warrington...
There is an Augustine Elmes (1646?-1705), on record in Britain, who was a member of the Jesuit Religious Order...

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

Elm Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Dietr Von Elm, who landed in North America in 1832-1849 1

Contemporary Notables of the name Elm (post 1700) +

Steven Elm (b. 1975), Canadian silver medalist speed skater at the 2006 Winter Olympics
David Elm (b. 1983), Swedish footballer
Rasmus Christoffer Elm (b. 1988), Swedish footballer
Viktor Sebastian Elm (b. 1985), Swedish footballer

Citations +

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)