Fox History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany
Ireland
Israel

Etymology of Fox

What does the name Fox mean?

The surname Fox originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Sionnaigh, derived from the word "sionnach," which means "fox." 1

Early Origins of the Fox family

The surname Fox was first found in County Limerick (Irish: Luimneach) located in Southwestern Ireland, in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

Early History of the Fox family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fox research. Another 188 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1624, 1627, 1661, 1676, 1679, 1680, 1685, 1689, 1691, 1716, 1749 and 1806 are included under the topic Early Fox History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fox Spelling Variations

Within the archives researched, many different spelling variations of the surname Fox were found. These included One reason for the many variations is that scribes and church officials often spelled an individual's name as it sounded. This imprecise method often led to many versions. Fox, McFox, McShanaghy, McShinagh, McShinnock and others.

Early Notables of the Fox family

George Fox (1624-1691), an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, better known as the Quakers or Friends
Sir Stephen Fox (1627-1716), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Salisbury (1661-1679), for Westminster in 1679 and for Salisbury (1685-1689), Paymaster of the Forces (1661-1676) and (1679...
Sir Charles Fox, English engineer who built the Crystal Palace

Fox World Ranking

the United States, the name Fox is the 186^th most popular surname with an estimated 131,811 people with that name. 2 However, in Canada, the name Fox is ranked the 329^th most popular surname with an estimated 13,697 people with that name. 3 And in Australia, the name Fox is the 163^rd popular surname with an estimated 18,798 people with that name. 4 New Zealand ranks Fox as 192^nd with 2,900 people. 5 The United Kingdom ranks Fox as 114^th with 42,599 people. 6

Fox migration to the United States +

During the 19th century thousands of impoverished Irish families made the long journey to British North America and the United States. These people were leaving a land that had become beset with poverty, lack of opportunity, and hunger. In North America, they hoped to find land, work, and political and religious freedoms. Although the majority of the immigrants that survived the long sea passage did make these discoveries, it was not without much perseverance and hard work: by the mid-19th century land suitable for agriculture was short supply, especially in British North America, in the east; the work available was generally low paying and physically taxing construction or factory work; and the English stereotypes concerning the Irish, although less frequent and vehement, were, nevertheless, present in the land of freedom, liberty, and equality for all men. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Research into passenger and immigration lists has brought forth evidence of the early members of the Fox family in North America:

Fox Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Fox, who arrived in Jamestown, Va in 1608 aboard the ship "Second Supply" 7
Mr. Thomas Fox, British settler who sailed from Isle of Wight arriving in Salem, Massachusetts in 1630 aboard the ship "Ambrose" as part of the Winthrop Fleet 8
Hugh Fox, who arrived in Virginia in 1633 7
John Fox, aged 33, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Transport" 7
Richard Fox, aged 15, British settler who landed in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "Abigail" 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fox Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joseph Fox, who arrived in Virginia in 1701 7
Richard Fox, who arrived in Virginia in 1704 7
John Fox, who arrived in Virginia in 1705 7
James Fox, who settled in Virginia in 1706
Marmaduke Fox, who arrived in Virginia in 1714 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fox Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Patt Fox, who arrived in New York, NY in 1804 7
Joseph Fox, who landed in America in 1811 7
Antonio Fox, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1816 7
Mr. Fox, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1822 7
John Fox, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1836 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fox Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

George Greenfield Fox, who arrived in Colorado in 1901 7
George Fox, who arrived in South America in 1911 7

Fox migration to Canada +

Fox Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Barnaby Fox, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749
Christopher Fox, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749
Daniel Fox, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Castor Fox, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750
Mrs. Mary Fox U.E. who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on October 26, 1783 was passenger number 328 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on September 28, 1783 at Staten Island, New York 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fox Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

George Fox, who settled in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1814 10
James Fox, who settled in Harbour Grace in 1817
Thomas Fox, who settled in King's Cove, Newfoundland in 1826 10
Benjamin Fox was a planter in Western Bay, Newfoundland in 1828
Henry Fox, who arrived in Canada in 1831
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fox migration to Australia +

Fox Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Elizabeth Fox, British Convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Experiment" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 11
Mr. Peter Fox, (b. 1798), aged 16, Irish convict who was convicted in Meath, Ireland for life, transported aboard the "Canada" on 5th December 1814, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
Mr.Philip Fox, (Kirk), (b. 1748), aged 66, Irish labourer who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 14 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Francis and Eliza" on 15th December 1814, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 13
Mr. Robert Fox, English convict who was convicted in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 16th January 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 14
Joseph Fox, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Almorah" on April 1817, settling in New South Wales, Australia 15
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fox migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Fox Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Fox, who landed in Bay of Islands, New Zealand in 1840
Matthew Fox, aged 22, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "London" in 1840
William Fox, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840 aboard the ship Geo Fife
Edward Thomas Fox, aged 35, a plumber, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Olympus" in 1841
Harriet Fox, aged 27, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Olympus" in 1841
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fox 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. 16

Fox Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

John Fox, aged 19, British settler travelling from London, UK arriving in St Christopher (St. Kitts) on 5th January 1634 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Fox (post 1700) +

Terrance Stanley "Terry" Fox CC (1958-1981), Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer treatment activist who attempted the Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada run, to raise funds for cancer research, eponym of the Terry Fox Run which has been held more than 60 countries since 1981
Geoff Fox (1950-2025), American television broadcast meteorologist, with seven Emmy awards, and a career in the industry spanning more than four decades
Colin Fox (1938-2025), Canadian actor, appeared in various Canadian and American films and television series
Florence "Flo" Blossom Fox (1945-2025), American street photographer, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 30, carried on working as a photographer despite being completely paralyzed, having attendants, friends, and strangers take photos for her with an autofocus camera
Sam Fox (1929-2024), American businessman and diplomat in St. Louis, owner of Harbour Group Industries, 31st United States Ambassador to Belgium from 2007 to 2009
Gloria Lavera Fox (1942-2024), American politician for the state of Massachusetts
Karen Cynthia Fox (1954-2024), American set decorator
Jacob Fox (1879-1947), born Henry Fuchs, American Major League Baseball pitcher
Marye Anne Payne Fox (1947-2021), American physical organic chemist and university administrator, Seventh Chancellor of the University of California San Diego (2004-2012)
... (Another 236 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Fox family +

Centaur

Francis William Fox (1925-1943), Australian Seaman who died aboard the ship "Centaur" an Australian hospital ship when torpedoed on 14th May 1943
Mr. William Fox (1896-1914), English Bucker from Leigh, Lancashire,, England, United Kingdom who worked in the Hillcrest Coal Mine, Alberta, Canada and died in the mine collapse 17
Thomas Steven Fox (1967-1989), English production worker who was attending the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough Stadium, in Sheffield, Yorkshire when the stand allocated area became overcrowded and 96 people were crushed in what became known as the Hillsborough disaster and he died from his injuries 18
John Henry Edward Fox (d. 1942), British Leading Seaman aboard the HMS Cornwall when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 19
Mr. Jack Fox, British Marine, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and died in the sinking 20
... (Another 13 entries are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Fox Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Sionnach aboo
Motto Translation: The fox to victory

Sources +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
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)
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved January 6th 2023 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Almorah voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1817 with 180 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/almorah/1817
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
List Of Miners - Hillcrest Mine Disaster Data. (Retrieved 2014, June 24) . Retrieved from http://www.hillcrestminedisaster.com/data/index.php?title=List_Of_Miners
Hillsborough Victims (retreived 21st March 2021). Retreived from https://metro.co.uk/2019/04/15/remembering-96-victims-hillsborough-disaster-30-years-9206566/
Force Z Survivors Crew List HMS Cornwall (Retrieved 2018, February 13th) - Retrieved from https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listcornwallcrew.html#A
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html