Show ContentsHosford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Hosford Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Hosford

What does the name Hosford mean?

The Hosford name has descended through the generations from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. Their name comes from having lived near a stable or horse pasture. The surname is derived from the Old English words hors, which means horse, and falod, which means enclosure or field. Hosford may have also been given as an occupational surname to someone who worked at such a place. Early places names include: Horsford, Norfolk, 1 2 Horsford in East Worlington, Devon, and Horsforth in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 3

Horsford, Norfolk and Horsforth, Yorkshire both date back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where they were recorded as Hosforda and Horseford respectively. 4

Early Origins of the Hosford family

The surname Hosford was first found in Yorkshire where Nigel de Horsford was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1209. John Horsfall was recorded in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 3

Other Poll Tax entries include: Johannes de Horsford; Robertus de Horseforth, of Horseforth; Alicia de Horseforth, of Horseforth; and Robertus de Horsford. 5

Norfolk records include an entry for James de Horsford, clerk, Norfolk and William de Horsford, who was Burgess in Parliament for Norwich, 4 Edward III (during the fourth year of King Edward III's reign.) 6

Early History of the Hosford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hosford research. Another 61 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1682, 1751, 1759, 1768, 1771, 1773, 1817, 1818, 1837, 1840, 1859 and 1885 are included under the topic Early Hosford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hosford Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Hosford has undergone many spelling variations, including Horsfield, Horsefield, Horsford, Horseford and many more.

Early Notables of the Hosford family

Thomas Horsfield (1773-1859), American naturalist, born at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, on 12 May 1773. His parents were Moravians, and he remained throughout life a member of that religious body. 7 Thomas Walker Horsfield (d. 1837) was an English topographer, who was for some years minister of a dissenting congregation meeting at the Westgate Chapel at Lewes, Sussex, and more popularly known as the "Bull Meeting." 7 General Sir Alfred Hastings Horsford (1818-1885), son of General George Horsford, a distinguished West India officer, once Lieutenant-Governor of...
Another 84 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hosford Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hosford Ranking

the United States, the name Hosford is the 15,795th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 8

Migration of the Hosford family to Ireland

Some of the Hosford family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 54 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hosford migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Hosford were among those contributors:

Hosford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • William Hosford, who landed in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1633 9
Hosford Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Charles L. Hosford, aged 22, who arrived in America from Skibbereen, Ireland, in 1907
  • Elizabeth Hosford, aged 11, who arrived in New York, in 1907
  • Hugh C. Hosford, aged 19, who arrived in America from Skibbereen, Ireland, in 1908
  • Jennie Hosford, aged 17, who arrived in America from Bantry, Ireland, in 1909
  • Rebecca Susan Hosford, aged 18, who arrived in America from Liverpool, England, in 1909
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Hosford (post 1700) +

  • Henry Hosford Gurley (1788-1833), American politician, Member of the U. S. House of Representatives from Louisiana (1823-1831)
  • Chauncey Osborne Hosford (1820-1911), American pioneer and Methodist missionary in Oregon Country
  • Edward Columbus Hosford (1883-1939), American architect from Eastman, Georgia, who designed many county courthouses
  • Robert Hosford (b. 1962), British professional footballer
  • Henry Hosford Gurley (1788-1833), member of the U. S. House of Representatives
  • Henry Hosford Gurley (1788-1833), American politician, Representative from Louisiana 2nd District, 1823-31; District Judge in Louisiana, 1831-33 10
SS Atlantic
  • Mr. Hosford, who was traveling aboard the ship "SS Atlantic" when it struck rocks off Nova Scotia in 1873, died in the sinking
  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
  3. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  4. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  5. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  6. Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
  7. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  8. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  9. 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)
  10. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html

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