Heed History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Anglo-Saxon name Heed comes from when the family resided near a hill or near the source of a stream or the head of a valley. The name was originally derived from the Old English heafod, which meant head. The surname Heed 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. Heed may have also been a nickname given to someone with a large head or with some other peculiarity of the head.

Early Origins of the Heed family

The surname Heed was first found in Norfolk, but we must look to Nottinghamshire to find the first listing of the name, Thomas del Heved who was listed there in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 1 The same roll has lists the spelling as Hedde and the old Anglo-Saxon spelling Heved. (BP)

Early History of the Heed family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heed research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1275, 1609, 1628, 1637, 1641, 1667, 1679, 1686, 1689 and 1737 are included under the topic Early Heed History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heed Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Heed has been recorded under many different variations, including Head, Heade, Heads, Heed and others.

Early Notables of the Heed family

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

Migration of the Heed family to Ireland

Some of the Heed family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 121 words (9 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heed migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Heed or a variant listed above:

Heed Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Robert Heed, aged 27, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Thomas & John" 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Heed (post 1700) +

Fred Heed, American politician, Burgess of West Chester, Pennsylvania, 1919 3

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html