Show ContentsHayhurst History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Hayhurst is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived near a woodland located at a high elevation, or near a hedge or enclosure made of trees. The surname Hayhurst belongs to the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees.

Early Origins of the Hayhurst family

The surname Hayhurst was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Hayhurst family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hayhurst research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hayhurst History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hayhurst Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Hayhurst family name include Hayhurst, Heyhurst and others.

Early Notables of the Hayhurst family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • Hayhurst of Parkhead

Hayhurst Ranking

In the United States, the name Hayhurst is the 14,602nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1


United States Hayhurst migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Hayhurst surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Hayhurst Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Cuthbert Hayhurst and his wife Mary and five children settled in Pennsylvania in 1682
  • Cuthbert Hayhurst, who settled in Pennsylvania in 1682 with his wife Mary and six children
  • Cuthbert Hayhurst, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1682 2

New Zealand Hayhurst 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:

Hayhurst Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mrs. Sarah Hayhurst, (b. 1777), aged 79, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sir Edward Paget" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd July 1856 3
  • Mrs. Amelia Hayhurst, (b. 1806), aged 50, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sir Edward Paget" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd July 1856 3
  • Mr. James Hayhurst, (b. 1806), aged 50, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sir Edward Paget" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd July 1856 3
  • Miss Betsy Hayhurst, (b. 1827), aged 29, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sir Edward Paget" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd July 1856 3
  • Miss Mary Hayhurst, (b. 1833), aged 23, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Sir Edward Paget" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd July 1856 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Hayhurst (post 1700) +

  • Thomas Eldon Hayhurst (b. 1942), American politician, City Councilman, Fort Wayne, Indiana (1996-2008)
  • Dirk Von Hayhurst (b. 1981), American Major League Baseball pitcher
  • Kelly J Hayhurst, American research scientist working in the area of design correctness and certification at NASA
  • William "Will" Hayhurst (b. 1994), English professional football winger for Notts County
  • Albert Hayhurst (1905-1991), English cricketer and footballer from Birdwell, Yorkshire
  • Andrew Neil "Andy" Hayhurst (b. 1962), former English cricketer who played from 1997 through 1989
  • Terry Hayhurst (b. 1985), Canadian professional darts player, ranked #35 in the world and #2 in the Americas by the World Darts Federation in 2011
  • William Hayhurst (1887-1975), Canadian farmer, principal, teacher, businessman and politician, Member of Parliament for Vegreville (1935-1940)
  • Beth Hayhurst, Canadian photographer 4


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)
  3. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  4. Beth Hayhurst. (Retrieved 2010, September 27) Beth Hayhurst. Retrieved from http://bethhayhurst.com/


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