Hofart History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Hofart is an ancient Anglo-Saxon name. It was a name given to a person who was a person with the characteristics of an owl. Often nicknames described strong traits or attributes that people wished to emulate in a specific animal. In the pre-Christian era, many pagan gods and demigods were believed to be a mixture of animals and humans, such as the Greek god Pan who was the god of flocks and herds and was represented as a man with the legs, horns and ears of a goat. In the Middle Ages, anthropomorphic ideas, which attributed human qualities and form to gods or animals, were held about the characters of other living creatures. They were based on the creature's habits. Moreover, these associations were reflected in folk-tales, mythology, and legends which portrayed animals behaving as humans.

Early Origins of the Hofart family

The surname Hofart was first found in Gloucestershire where the name Povey is a provincialism for an owl. 1

Early History of the Hofart family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hofart research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1613, 1621, 1650, 1652, 1660, 1673, 1679, 1690, 1702, 1705, 1706 and 1743 are included under the topic Early Hofart History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hofart 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 Hofart has appeared include Povey, Povy and others.

Early Notables of the Hofart family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Thomas Povey (1613-1705) FRS, London merchant and politician, active in colonial affairs from the 1650s, he was a member from 1660 of Charles II's Council for Foreign Plantations. Charles Povey (c. 1652-1743), was an English miscellaneous writer...
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hofart Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hofart family to Ireland

Some of the Hofart family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 56 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Hofart family

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 Hofart arrived in North America very early: Anne Povey and her husband who settled in Barbados in 1697; James, John and William Povey arrived in Philadelphia between 1174 and 1852.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.