Show ContentsIvory History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Ivory

What does the name Ivory mean?

The name Ivory came to England with the ancestors of the Ivory family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Ivory family lived in Oxfordshire. Their name, however, is a local reference to the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Ivry-la-Bataille in Eure, Normandy. The name of this place derives from the Gallo-Roman personal name Eburius, which means ivory.

Early Origins of the Ivory family

The surname Ivory was first found in Oxfordshire where they held a family seat from very early times and were granted lands by Duke William of Normandy, their liege Lord, for their distinguished assistance a the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Ivory family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ivory research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1407 is included under the topic Early Ivory History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ivory Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Ives, Ivery and others.

Early Notables of the Ivory family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • Sir James Ivory, the noted Mathematician

Ivory Ranking

In the United States, the name Ivory is the 3,364th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Ivory family to Ireland

Some of the Ivory family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Ivory migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Ivory or a variant listed above:

Ivory Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • William Ivory, who arrived in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1652 2
  • George Ivory who settled in Virginia in 1653 with his wife Florence
  • Geo Ivory, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 2
  • Edmund Ivory, who arrived in Virginia in 1657 2
  • Margaret Ivory, who landed in Maryland in 1662 2
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Ivory Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Edward Ivory, who landed in America in 1805 2
  • Chr Ivory, who arrived in New York, NY in 1815 2
  • Charles and Margaret Ivory, who settled in New York State in 1823 with three children
  • Thomas Ivory, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1823 2
  • Peter Ivory, aged 46, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1825 2
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Ivory migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ivory Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • John Ivory, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1820
  • Mr. John Ivory, aged 40 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "John Francis" departing from the port of Cork, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle In June 1847 3
  • Mr. Lawrence Ivory, aged 3 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "John Francis" departing from the port of Cork, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle In June 1847 3
  • Miss. Margaret Ivory, aged 3 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "John Francis" departing 10th April 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 10th June 1847 but she died on board 4
  • Mr. Patrick Ivory, aged 10 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "John Francis" departing 10th April 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 10th June 1847 but he died on board 4

Ivory migration to Australia +

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

Ivory Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Thomas Ivory, (b. 1762), aged 66, Irish reaper who was convicted in Wexford, Ireland for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Fergusson" on 16th November 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
  • Mr. Charles Ivory, British Convict who was convicted in Kent, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 20th July 1837, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
  • Mr. Frederick Ivory, British Convict who was convicted in Salford, Greater Manchester, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eden" on 12th March 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 7
  • John Ivory, aged 37, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Sultana" 8
  • John Ivory, aged 37, a labourer, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Sultana" in 1850 8
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Ivory 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:

Ivory Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. William Ivory, (b. 1856), aged 11 months, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Glentanner" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 3rd October 1857 9
  • Mrs. Ann Ivory, (b. 1829), aged 28, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Glentanner" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 3rd October 1857 9
  • Mr. Aquila Ivory, (b. 1829), aged 28, British gardener travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Glentanner" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 3rd October 1857 9
  • Miss Louisa Ivory, (b. 1854), aged 3, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Glentanner" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 3rd October 1857 9

Ivory 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
Ivory Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • George Ivory, who landed in Jamaica in 1683 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Ivory (post 1700) +

  • Clifford Ivory (b. 1975), American former CFL cornerback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts
  • Horace Ivory (b. 1954), American former NFL football running back who played from 1977 through 1982
  • Judith Ivory, pen name of Judy Cuevas, a best-selling American author of historical romance novels
  • Christopher "Chris" Ivory (b. 1988), American NFL football running back for the New Orleans Saints
  • James Ivory (b. 1928), American three-time Academy Award nominated film director, co-founder of Merchant Ivory Productions in 1961
  • George Ivory, American basketball coach
  • Marco B. Ivory, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1888 11
  • Marcellius Ivory, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1972 11
  • Larry Ivory, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 2004 11
  • Jean Ivory, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 37th District, 1952 11
  • ... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  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. Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 35)
  4. Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 81)
  5. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 4th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fergusson
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th February 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1837
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th December 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
  8. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SULTANA 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Sultana.htm
  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. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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