Show ContentsHerring History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Herring family

The surname Herring was first found in Holland, where the name became noted for its many branches in the region, each house acquiring a status and influence which was envied by the princes of the region. The name was first recorded in Amsterdam, an ancient 13th century town held by the Lords of Amstel. Giesebrecht II built a castle there. Geisbrecht III built the dam to keep out the sea. It is first mentioned in charters of 1275 when Floris IV, the count of Holland granted its charter. It became a city of great mercantile wealth. It hold great treasures of art. In their later history the surname became a power unto themselves and were elevated to the ranks of nobility as they grew into a most influential family.

Early History of the Herring family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Herring research. Another 94 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1323, 1404, 1498, 1623, 1715, 1759 and 1794 are included under the topic Early Herring History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Herring Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Haring, Harings, Haringer, Haringen, Harinck, Haringhoek, Haringshauen, Harinsma, Harinx, Harinxma, Hering and many more.

Early Notables of the Herring family

Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Herring Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Herring Ranking

In the United States, the name Herring is the 690th most popular surname with an estimated 42,279 people with that name. 1


United States Herring migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Herring Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • John Herring, who settled in Virginia in 1642
  • Jon Herring, who arrived in Virginia in 1642 2
  • Bartholomew Herring, who landed in Maryland in 1647 2
  • Ann Herring, who arrived in Maryland in 1650 2
  • Margaret Herring, who arrived in Maryland in 1651 2
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Herring Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Hen Herring, who arrived in Virginia in 1700 2
  • Edward Herring, who landed in Virginia in 1712 2
  • John Geo Herring, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1754 2
  • Ludwig Herring, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1754 2
  • Ludwick Herring, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1760 2
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Herring Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • William Herring, who arrived in America in 1810 2
  • Catharine Herring, aged 69, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1813 2
  • Thomas Herring, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1835 2
  • Francis Herring, who arrived in St Clair County, Illinois in 1840 2
  • Honora Victorine Herring, who landed in New York, NY in 1841 2
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Australia Herring migration to Australia +

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

Herring Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Richard Herring, English labourer who was convicted in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Fanny" on 25th August 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 3
  • Mr. Martin Herring, English convict who was convicted in West Riding, Yorkshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" in May 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
  • John Herring, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Agamemnon" on April 22, 1820, settling in New South Wales, Australia 5
  • John Herring, English convict from Worcester, who was transported aboard the "Adamant" on March 16, 1821, settling in New South Wales, Australia 6
  • Mr. George Herring, English convict who was convicted in Worcester, Worcestershire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Claudine" on 20th May 1821, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Herring 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:

Herring Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Herring, British settler travelling from London and Plymouth aboard the ship "Thomas Sparks" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 31st January 1843, the ship stuck rocks of the coast of Cape of Good Hope delaying her landing by 2 months 8
  • Miss Amelia A. Herring, (b. 1840), aged 25, British milliner travelling from London aboard the ship "Eastern Empire" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 4th January 1865 9

West Indies Herring 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. 10
Herring Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Joseph Herring, who settled in Barbados in 1635
  • Jo Herring, aged 28, who arrived in Barbados in 1635 2
  • Mr. John Herring, (b. 1607), aged 28, British settler travelling from London, England aboard the ship "Alexander" arriving in Barbados in 1635 11

Contemporary Notables of the name Herring (post 1700) +

  • Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring KCMG, KBE, DSO, MC, KStJ, ED, QC (1892-1962), Australian Army officer during the Second World War, Lieutenant governor of Victoria, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria
  • John Frederick Herring (1795-1865), English animal-painter, born in Surrey, son of an American whose parents were Dutch, was a fringe-maker in Newgate Street 12
  • Katherine "Katie" Herring (1933-2018), née James, an All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player who played for the Grand Rapids Chicks (1953)
  • Harold Moreland "Hal" Herring (1924-2014), American football player and coach
  • Conyers Herring (1914-2009), American physicist and co-winner of the 1984/85 Wolf Prize in Physics
  • Augustus Moore Herring (1867-1926), American aviation pioneer
  • Lieutenant Rufus Geddie Herring (1921-1996), United States Naval Reserve officer awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1945
  • George A. Herring, American politician, Representative from Pennsylvania 18th District, 1920 13
  • Erastus C. Herring, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for U.S. Representative from Michigan 9th District, 1894 13
  • E. I. Herring, American Republican politician, Member of Colorado State House of Representatives, 1950 13
  • ... (Another 26 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

HMS Dorsetshire
  • John Frankland Herring (d. 1945), British Stoker 1st Class aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 14
Senghenydd colliery
  • Mr. James Herring (b. 1888), Welsh coal miner from Senghenydd, Caerphilly, Wales who was working at the Senghenydd colliery when there was an explosion on the 14th October 1913; he died
  • Mr. John Herring (b. 1853), Welsh coal miner from Senghenydd, Caerphilly, Wales who was working at the Senghenydd colliery when there was an explosion on the 14th October 1913; he died
SS Atlantic
  • Mr. Robert Herring, British crew member who was aboard the ship "SS Atlantic" when it struck rocks off Nova Scotia in 1873, survived the sinking
USS Arizona
  • Mr. James Jumior Herring, American Signalman Third Class from Iowa, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 15


Suggested Readings for the name Herring +

  • A Dutch Family in the Middle Colonies, 1660-1800 by Firth Haring Fabend.

  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. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 1st March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
  5. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Agamemnon voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1820 with 179 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/agamemnon/1820
  6. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Adamant voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1821 with 144 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adamant/1821
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/claudine
  8. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  9. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  11. Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 28th September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  12. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020
  13. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 6) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  14. Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html
  15. Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html


Houseofnames.com on Facebook