Longhellow History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancient history of the name Longhellow began soon after 1066 when the Norman Conquest of England occurred. It was a name given to a tall person. The surname Longfellow is derived from the Old English word lang, meaning long or tall, and the Old English word felagh, which meant partner or shareholder.1

Early Origins of the Longhellow family

The surname Longhellow was first found in Huntingdonshire, now part the district of Cambridgeshire where in 1165, Henry de Longavilla held lands from Nigel de Luvetot. He descended from a branch of the Gifford family, barons of Langueville and Bolbec near Dieppe, Normandy. Osberne de Longeville or Bolbec gave the church of Pictariville, Normandy c. 990.

Other early listings of early variants of the name include: Richard de Logvil in Buckinghamshire in 1199, and Roger de Longavilla in Huntingdonshire c. 1200. 2 Longville as a place name occurs in a few places throughout Britain including: Newton Longville is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire; Weston Longville is a civil parish in Norfolk; and Cheney Longville is a small village in Shropshire which is home to Cheney Longville Castle a much restored 14th century fortified manor house.

The Longfellow variant may have been a nickname, 3 but this variant was almost always found in Yorkshire. Indeed, the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's family claims descent from the Yorkshire branch. 3 Early Yorkshire rolls revealed Peter Langfellay during the Corpus Christi Guild and Elizabeth Longfellow during the Deposition from York Castle. Margery Langfellow was listed in the Corpus Christi Guild in 1491. 4

Early History of the Longhellow family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Longhellow research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1689, 1797, 1807 and 1882 are included under the topic Early Longhellow History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Longhellow Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Longhellow are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Longhellow include Longfellow, Longuville, Longville, Longfield and others.

Early Notables of the Longhellow family

Another 38 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Longhellow Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Longhellow family to Ireland

Some of the Longhellow family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 96 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Longhellow family

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Longhellow, or a variant listed above: William Longfellow arrived in New England in 1630.

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)