Hasard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Hasard family was an integral part of Britain's Norman legacy, a legacy that began in 1066 with the Conquest of the island. Hasard was a name given to a person who takes chances or a gambler which is derived from the Old French word hasard, which means a game of dice, played by a gambler or one who was prepared to run risks. [1] [2] A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nickname surnames referred to a characteristic of the first person who used the name. They can describe the bearer's favored style of clothing, appearance, habits, or character. "The orthography was originally Hasssart, and the extinct dukes of Charante [Normandy] were of the same family." [3]

Early Origins of the Hasard family

The surname Hasard was first found in Gloucestershire where "soon after the Conquest a branch settled." [3]

Early Pipe Rolls in Hampshire show Hugo Hasard in 1170 and 1190, Halsard (Hasard) in 1178 and William Halsart in Surrey in 1177. In Yorkshire, the Pipe Rolls listed Gilbert Hausard in 1196. Geoffrey Hasard was listed as a Knights Templar in Lincolnshire in 1185 and the Feet of Fines for Kent list Walter Hassard in 1197. [4]

The Hundredorum Rolls for 1273 include entries for Gilbert Haunsard, Lincolnshire; John Haunsard, Norfolk; and John Hasard, Yorkshire. [5]

The Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. include an entry for John Haunsard, Northamptonshire, Henry III-Edward I. [6]. Alan de Haunsard, taverner was listed as Freeman of York, 4 Edward II (during the 4th year of King Edward II's reign.)

Early History of the Hasard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hasard research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1624, 1625, 1631 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Hasard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hasard Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Hazard, Hasard, Hassard and others.

Early Notables of the Hasard family

More information is included under the topic Early Hasard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hasard family to Ireland

Some of the Hasard family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hasard migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Hasard or a variant listed above were:

Hasard Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Hasard, who arrived in New England in 1720 [7]

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
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)