| ![Show Contents]() Kearslake History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
England
Etymology of KearslakeWhat does the name Kearslake mean? Kearslake is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived near a stream in which a substantial quantity of the edible plant cress or watercress grew. The surname Kearslake is derived from the Old English words cærse, which means cress, and lacu, which means stream. 1 The surname Kearslake belongs to the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees. Early Origins of the Kearslake familyThe surname Kearslake was first found in Devon at Kerslake, a hamlet near Tiverton. "Burgesses of that town bore this name in the reign of James I., and Abraham Kerslake was a Tiverton churchwarden in the time of Charles II." 2 The "C" and "K" prefix for the name has always been interchangeable, as the first record of the family was actually found in Somerset. The Assize Rolls of Somerset in 1279 listed Ranulph de Carselak. 3 Early History of the Kearslake familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kearslake research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1279, 1295, 1586, 1677, 1821 and 1881 are included under the topic Early Kearslake History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Kearslake Spelling VariationsSound 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 Kearslake family name include Karslake, Carslake, Kerslake, Carselak, Karslack and others. Early Notables of the Kearslake familyMore information is included under the topic Early Kearslake Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Kearslake familyFor political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, 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. Early immigrants bearing the Kearslake surname or a spelling variation of the name include: John Kerslake, who sailed to Barbados in 1684. Thomas Carslake journeyed to Boston in 1716 and John Kerslake sailed to Philadelphia in 1868.
The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.
Motto: Ad finem fidelis
Motto Translation: Faithful to the end.
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
- Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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