| ![Show Contents]() Kerford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The ancestors of the bearers of the Kerford family name are thought have lived in ancient Anglo-Saxon England. They were first found in a valley or at the foot of a hill. Kerford 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 Kerford familyThe surname Kerford 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 Kerford familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kerford research. Another 101 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1661, 1664, 1688 and 1741 are included under the topic Early Kerford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Kerford Spelling VariationsUntil quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Kerford include Kerfoot, Kerford, Kerfont, Kerfut, Kerriford and many more. Early Notables of the Kerford familyMore information is included under the topic Early Kerford Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.  Migration of the Kerford family to Ireland
Some of the Kerford 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. Migration of the Kerford familySearching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Kerford or a variant listed above: Thomas Kerfitt, who settled in Virginia in 1624; and Elizabeth Kerfoote, who sailed to Virginia in 1637.
| Contemporary Notables of the name Kerford (post 1700) | + |
- Lloyd Kerford, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Kansas, 1944 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)
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 6) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
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England
Ireland
