Greenhalgh History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancient roots of the Greenhalgh family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Greenhalgh comes from when the family lived in Greenhalg in Kirkham and Greenhalg Castle in Garstang. The surname Greenhalgh originally derived from greene as n the village greene which was the center or main square of each region. Many inhabitants in various counties adopted this surname as part of their family's nomenclature. The surname Greenhalgh is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came.

Early Origins of the Greenhalgh family

The surname Greenhalgh was first found in Shropshire where Richard de Grenhal was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1230. A few years later, William de Grenol was listed in the Assize Rolls for Lancashire in 1246, as was Matill de Greenhalgh, William de Grenolf, de Grenholl in the Subsidy Rolls for 1332. 1

One branch originated in Greenhalgh (now known as Greenhalgh-with-Thistleton), a civil parish on the Fylde in Lancashire or possibly Greenhalgh, now Greenhalgh Castle, in Garstang parish, Lancashire, (spelt Greenhaugh) 2

"The Greenhalghs, who are best represented in the Middleton district, derive their name from a Lancashire township. During the 15th century, the Grenehalghs of Brandlesome were hereditary bailiffs of Tottington, and during the two succeeding centuries they gained and retained the position of gentry. The name of Thomas Greenhalgh occurs in the list of intended Knights of the Royal Oak, amongst those of other Lancashire gentlemen, the annual value of his estate being there placed at £1,000: this Order, however, which Charles II. intended as a reward for his followers, was never founded." 3

Early History of the Greenhalgh family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Greenhalgh research. Another 269 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1246, 1576, 1584, 1591, 1599, 1611, 1613, 1615, 1635, 1644, 1646, 1648, 1651, 1652, 1655, 1658, 1661, 1669, 1671, 1672, 1676, 1679, 1708, 1740, 1791 and 1810 are included under the topic Early Greenhalgh History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Greenhalgh 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 Greenhalgh has appeared include Greenhalgh, Greenhow, Greenhough, Greenhall and others.

Early Notables of the Greenhalgh family

Distinguished members of the family include

John Greenhalgh (d. 1651), was Governor of the Isle of Man, and the only son of Thomas Greenhalgh of Brandlesome Hall in the parish of Bury, Lancashire. "His father dying in 1599 his mother married Si...

Greenhalgh Ranking

In the United States, the name Greenhalgh is the 13,511^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Greenhalgh 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 Greenhalgh arrived in North America very early:

Greenhalgh Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Samuel Greenhalgh, aged 29, who landed in Rhode Island in 1812 5
Robert Greenhalgh, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1854 5
Adam, Edward, James, John, Joseph, Peter, Robert and William Greenhalgh all, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1832 and 1880

Greenhalgh migration to Australia +

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

Greenhalgh Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Robert Greenhalgh, English convict from Lancaster, who was transported aboard the "Almorah" on April 1817, settling in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Jonathan Greenhalgh, British Convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Dunvegan Castle" on 13th March 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Mr. Thomas Greenhalgh, (b. 1817), aged 25, English shoe maker who was convicted in Salford, Greater Manchester, England for 10 years for burglary, transported aboard the "Emerald Isle" on 25th June 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Mr. James Greenhalgh, (b. 1801), aged 42, English coal miner who was convicted in Salford, Greater Manchester, England for 7 years for stealing transported aboard the "Forfarshire" on 24th June 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
Mr. Simeon Greenhalgh, (b. 1822), aged 24, English farm labourer who was convicted in Liverpool, Merseyside, England for 10 years for burglary, transported aboard the "China" on 78th January 1846, arriving in Norfolk Island, Australia 10

Contemporary Notables of the name Greenhalgh (post 1700) +

Sean Greenhalgh, American drummer of the rock band "Clap Your Hands Say Yeah"
Jack Greenhalgh (1904-1971), American cinematographer, known for Billy the Kid in Santa Fe (1941), Gangster's Den (1945), Too Many Winners (1947)
A. H. Greenhalgh, American politician, Member of the Nevada Assembly (1870-1872)
William Greenhalgh, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Schenectady County, 1872 11
George D. Greenhalgh, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Rhode Island, 1944; Rhode Island Republican State Chair, 1945 11
Shaun Greenhalgh (b. 1960), English art forger, he and his family were according to Scotland Yard "possibly the most diverse forgery team in the world, ever"
Tom Greenhalgh (b. 1956), English musician with the Mekons
Sam Greenhalgh (1882-1955), English footballer who played as a centre half with the Bolton Wanderers and Aston Villa (1902-1913)
Paul Greenhalgh (b. 1955), English educator at University of East Anglia
Nick Greenhalgh (b. 1989), English rugby player who played for Northampton Saints in the Guinness Premiership in 2008
... (Another 21 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Baines Thomas & William Fairbairn, Lancashire and Cheshire, Past and Present History of Counties London: William MacKenzie, 1867, Digital, 4 vols
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
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
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dunvegan-castle
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emily
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/forfarshire
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 5th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/china
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html