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Laws History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Laws History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Scotland
Ireland

Laws was first used as a surname by the descendents of the Boernician clans of Scotland. The Laws family lived near a hill. Laws is a local name, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. There are many different categories of local surnames, some of which include: topographic surnames, which could be given to a person who lived beside any 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. Laws is a topographic name, and it comes from the Old English word, hlaw, which means hill.

Early Origins of the Laws family

The surname Laws was first found in Northumberland, where they were lords of the manor and seated from very ancient times.

Early History of the Laws family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Laws research. Another 131 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1595, 1602, 1645, 1662, 1671, 1686, 1729, 1761 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Laws History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Laws Spelling Variations

Scribes in the Middle Ages simply spelled according to sound. The result is an enormous number of spelling variations among names that evolved in that era. Laws has been spelled Law, Lawe, Lawes and others.

Early Notables of the Laws family

Notable amongst the family at this time was John Law (1671-1729), a Scottish economist, Controller General of Finances of France under King Louis XV; William Law (1686-1761), an Anglican priest from Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire who is honoured on April 10 with a...
Another 42 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Laws Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Laws Ranking

In the United States, the name Laws is the 2,198^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Laws family to Ireland

Some of the Laws family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Laws migration to the United States +

Most of the Boernician-Scottish families who came to North America settled on the eastern seaboard of what would become the United States and Canada. Families who wanted a new order stayed south in the War of Independence, while those who were still loyal to the crown went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. In the 20th century, the ancestors of these families have gone on to rediscover their heritage through Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Laws or a variant listed above:

Laws Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Benjamin Laws, who arrived in New York in 1796 2

Laws Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mathew Laws, aged 21, who landed in Key West, Fla in 1837 2

Laws migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Laws Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Samuel Laws U.E. who settled in Richmond, [Greater Napanee], Ontario c. 1784 3

Laws Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Valentine Laws, aged 29, Scottish house carpenter who arrived in Pictou, Nova Scotia in 1815-1816 with his wife and 2 children
Valentine Laws, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1815

Laws migration to Australia +

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

Laws Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Hannah Laws, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Canada" in March 1810, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
Mr. Benjamin Laws, English convict who was convicted in Suffolk, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Dromedary" on 11th September 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Mr. John Laws, British convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "England" on 6th June 1835, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Robert Laws, aged 36, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Sultana" 7
Robert Laws, aged 36, a wheelwright, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Sultana" in 1850 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Laws 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:

Laws Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Fanny M. Laws, (b. 1845), aged 23, British domestic servant travelling from London aboard the ship "Gainsborough" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd May 1868 8
Thomas Laws, aged 32, a cartwright, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Douglas" in 1873
Mary A. Laws, aged 30, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Douglas" in 1873
Charles H. Laws, aged 6, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Douglas" in 1873
Frederick A. Laws, aged 2, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Douglas" in 1873
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Laws (post 1700) +

Joe Laws (1911-1979), American football player
George Malcolm Laws (b. 1919), American scholar of traditional UK and USA folk song
Staff Sergeant Robert E Laws (1921-1990), United States Army soldier awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1945
Sir John Grant McKenzie Laws (1945-2020), English jurist, Lord Justice of Appeal (1999-2016), Goodhart Visiting Professor of Legal Science at the University of Cambridge
Sharon Laws (1974-2017), British professional cyclist and environmental consultant, 2008 British National Time Trial Champion, 2012 British National Road Race Champion
Douglas Laws (1922-1991), South African radio personality and broadcaster (1953 to 1971)
Brian Laws (b. 1960), English former footballer and manager
John Laws CBE (b. 1935), Australian prominent and controversial radio presenter
Richard Maitland Laws, British Director, British Antarctic Survey

Historic Events for the Laws family +

Empress of Ireland

Mr. Robert Laws (1882-1914), Scottish Third Class Passenger from Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 9

HMS Hood

Mr. Albert E Laws (b. 1905), English Chief Stoker serving for the Royal Navy from South Shields, County Durham, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 10

The Laws Motto +

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: Compositum jus fasque animi
Motto Translation: A mind which respects alike the laws of mutual justice and of God.

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dromedary
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/england
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SULTANA 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Sultana.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm