| ![Show Contents]() Kerfitt History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The ancestry of the name Kerfitt dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in a valley or at the foot of a hill. Kerfitt is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. Early Origins of the Kerfitt familyThe surname Kerfitt was first found in Yorkshire where Ricardus de Kerfforth was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. A very rare name, we must look to 1572 to find the next record, that of Margarette Kyrfote, of Bolhngton who appears in the Reg. Prestbury, Cheshire at that time. A few years later, John Kirfoote, or Kyerfoote, Cheshire appears in the Register of the University of Oxford in 1583. 1 Early History of the Kerfitt familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kerfitt research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1661, 1664, 1688 and 1741 are included under the topic Early Kerfitt History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Kerfitt Spelling VariationsSpelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Kerfitt have been found, including Kerfoot, Kerford, Kerfont, Kerfut, Kerriford and many more. Early Notables of the Kerfitt familyMore information is included under the topic Early Kerfitt Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.  Migration of the Kerfitt family to Ireland
Some of the Kerfitt 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.
| Kerfitt migration to the United States | + |
Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Kerfitt, or a variant listed above:
Kerfitt Settlers in United States in the 17th Century- Thomas Kerfitt, aged 24, who landed in Virginia in 1624 aboard the ship "Hopewell" 2
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- 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)
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Kerfitt migration to the United States 
England
Ireland
