Farra Surname, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available: English, Spanish

Buy JPG Image »

The Farra name was coined by the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. Farra was originally a name given to someone who worked as a shoer of horses, or a farrier. In the Middle Ages, horses were the only alternative to walking as a means of transportation. This made the farrier a very important person; not only did they replace horseshoes, but they also diagnosed any number of ailments of the animals. In short, their job was to keep the horse on the road and in good health. This importance was reflected in the fact that they were often free, instead of being bonded to the land in the way that serfs and peasants were.

Farra Early Origins

PDF Coat of Arms
+ Extended History

PDF Coat of Arms + Extended Surname History

Buy PDF History »

The surname Farra was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire at Wortley, a chapelry, in the parish of St. Peter, liberty of the borough of Leeds. "This place, in the Domesday Survey styled Wyrteley, formerly belonged to the Farrars, of Halifax, from whom the manor was purchased in 1766 by the family of the present owner."

Farra Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Farra are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Farra include: Farrar, Farrer, Farror, Farrough, Farrow, Farrowe, Varrow, Varrowe, Varow, Vairow, Varer and many more.

Farra Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Farra research. Another 307 words (22 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1402, 1754, 1691, 1689, 1691, 1652 and 1692 are included under the topic Early Farra History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Farra Early Notables (pre 1700)

Another 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Farra Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Farra In Ireland

Some of the Farra family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. Another 53 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Farra or a variant listed above:

Farra Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Farra, who landed in Virginia in 1650 ^[2]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)

Farra Family Crest Products

Citations

^ Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
^ 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)

Other References

Hanks, Hodges, Mills and Room. The Oxford Names Companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print. (ISBN 0-19-860561-7).
Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Galveston Texas 1896-1951. National Archives Washington DC. Print.
Egle, William Henry. Pennsylvania Genealogies Scotch-Irish and German. Harrisburg: L.S. Hart, 1886. Print.
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8).
Bowman, George Ernest. The Mayflower Reader A Selection of Articales from The Mayflower Descendent. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print.
Markale, J. Celtic Civilization. London: Gordon & Cremonesi, 1976. 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).
Marcharn, Frederick George. A Constitutional History of Modern England 1485 to the Present. London: Harper and Brothers, 1960. Print.
MacAulay, Thomas Babington. History of England from the Accession of James the Second 4 volumes. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1879. Print.
Bradford, William. History of Plymouth Plantation 1620-1647 Edited by Samuel Eliot Morrison 2 Volumes. New York: Russell and Russell, 1968. Print.
...

The Farra Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Farra Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.

This page was last modified on 7 March 2016 at 16:36.