Show ContentsHorskin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Horskin is from the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name was given to a person who was a mounted warrior, rider, groom, or horse-dealer. The surname Horskin is derived from the Old English words hors, which means horse, and mann, which means man or servant. 1

Early Origins of the Horskin family

The surname Horskin was first found in Warwickshire where Hugh le Horsman was listed in the Feet of Fines for 1226-1227. The Subsidy Rolls for Worcester included John le Horsman there in 1327 and later in Yorkshire, William Horsman was listed there in 1415. 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had three listings for the family: Agnes le Horseman, Buckinghamshire; Robert le Horsman, Oxfordshire; and Walter Horsman, Huntingdonshire. 3

Early History of the Horskin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Horskin research. Another 86 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1536, 1589, 1593, 1597, 1601, 1604, 1610 and 1689 are included under the topic Early Horskin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Horskin 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 Horskin family name include Horsman, Horseman and others.

Early Notables of the Horskin family

Notables of the family at this time include Thomas Horsman (c.1536-1610), an English politician, Member of the Parliament of England for Grantham in 1593, 1597, 1601...
Another 26 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Horskin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Horskin family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, 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. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Horskin or a variant listed above: Christopher Horsman settled in Fort Cumberland Nova Scotia in 1775; Marmaduke Horsman settled in New Jersey in 1677.



  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)


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