Greenewood History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The surname Greenewood is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the Old English words meaning "green" and "wood." No doubt, the first family to bear this name lived in or near a dense forest or "whose abode was 'the merrie green-wood.' " 1

Early Origins of the Greenewood family

The surname Greenewood was first found in Yorkshire where the name is "a well-known Yorkshire name. Of course other spots might give rise to the surname. But it is absolutely certain that some small spot between Huddersfield and Slaithwaite has given birth to the Greenwoods, who have ramified so marvelously in that county." 2

As one might expect, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, list Johannes de Grenewode et Agnes uxor ejus, ffarmour de Graunge in Huddersfield; Johanna de Grenewoode; and Ricardus de Grenewode. 2

The Greenward variant is an interesting one. In this case, the name literally means "keeper of the village green" from the Old English word "weard" and the first record of the family was Adam Grenewerde who was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1276 in Yorkshire. The same rolls also listed John de Grenewode and also holding lands in Yorkshire at that time. 3

Early History of the Greenewood family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Greenewood research. Another 143 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1275, 1558, 1561, 1592, 1593, 1609, 1711 and 1737 are included under the topic Early Greenewood History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Greenewood Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Greenwood, Greenwoode, Greanwood, Greenewood, Grunewood, Greenwude, Greenewude, Greenwud and many more.

Early Notables of the Greenewood family

Distinguished members of the family include John Greenwood (died 1593), an English clergyman and religious reformer, executed in 1593. "On 5 Dec. 1592 Greenwood and Johnson were arrested shortly after midnight at the house of Edward Boys in Fleet Street, and taken to the Counter in Wood Street, Cheapside, and in the morning the archbishop recommitted Greenwood to the Fleet. On 11 and 20 March Greenwood was examined, and confessed to the authorship of his books (Egerton Papers, pp. 171, 176). On 21 March Greenwood and Barrow were indicted, and two days later Sir...
Another 93 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Greenewood Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Greenewood 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. 4

Greenewood Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. Jonathan Greenewood, (b. 1608), aged 26, British settler travelling from London, UK arriving in St Christopher (St. Kitts) on 5th January 1634 5
Mr. Robert Greenewood, (b. 1617), aged 18, British settler travelling aboard the ship "Expedition" arriving in Barbados in 1636 6

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. 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)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
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 Lists Early 1600's retrieved 29th September 2021. Retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm