Show ContentsFulwood History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Fulwood family

The surname Fulwood was first found in Lancashire at Fulwood, "for many generations the seat of the family." 1 However, another source claims that the family is from Fulwood, "an ecclesiastical district in the parish of Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire This seems to have been the habitat of the family." 2

And another source claims that family is from the West Riding of Yorkshire were Adam de Foulewode was first listed in 1326. 3

Indeed, this latter source may point us in the correct direction as the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include: Hugo de Folewode, taylour; Ricardus de Folewod; and Hugo de Fulewode as all holding lands there at that time. 2

In an attempt to clear up the confusion, we explored the origin of the place name Fulwood. It is derived from the Old English words "ful" + "wudu." The oldest place was in Lancashire where it was recorded as Fulede in 1199, followed by Folewode, Nottinghamshire in the 13 century. 4

Early History of the Fulwood family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fulwood research. Another 171 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1100, 1167, 1455, 1487, 1510, 1562, 1563, 1589, 1590, 1600, 1606, 1624 and 1643 are included under the topic Early Fulwood History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fulwood Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Fulwood has appeared include Fullwood, Fullward, Fulwood, Fulward, Filwood, Folward, Folwood, Foulwood, Filward, Fillward and many more.

Early Notables of the Fulwood family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • Christopher Fulwood (1590?-1643), English Royalist, probably born in London about 1590, the eldest son of Sir George Fulwood, Lord of the Manor of Middleton by Youlgrave, Derbyshire. His father, who d...
  • William Fulwood (fl. 1562), was an English author and a member of the Merchant Taylors' Company


Fulwood migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Fulwood arrived in North America very early:

Fulwood Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Fulwood, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 5

Fulwood migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Fulwood Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • William Fulwood, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Agamemnon" on April 22, 1820, settling in New South Wales, Australia 6
  • Mr. Joseph Fulwood, (b. 1804), aged 30, English hawker who was convicted in Buckinghamshire, England for life for theft, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 27th September 1834, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7

Fulwood 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. 8
Fulwood Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century
  • Samuel Fulwood, who landed in Barbados in 1701 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Fulwood (post 1700) +

  • Robert Fulwood Ligon (1823-1901), fourth Lieutenant Governor of Alabama
  • Robert Fulwood Ligon Jr. (b. 1864), American Democratic Party politician, Mayor, Tuskegee, Alabama, 1886-88; Adjutant General of Alabama, 1896-99; Clerk of Alabama Supreme Court, 1899-1916 9
  • Robert Fulwood Ligon (1823-1901), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Alabama State House of Representatives, 1849; Member of Alabama State Senate, 1861; Lieutenant Governor of Alabama, 1874-76 9


  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  4. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  5. 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)
  6. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Agamemnon voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1820 with 179 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/agamemnon/1820
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
  8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  9. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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