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Lucey History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Lucey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Lucey

What does the name Lucey mean?

The name Lucey came to England with the ancestors of the Lucey family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Lucey family lived in Norfolk. Their name, however, derives from the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066 of England, Lucy, near Rouen. 1 Luce is in Orne in the bailiwick of le Passeis, near Domfront, Normandy.

Early Origins of the Lucey family

The surname Lucey was first found in Norfolk where the first mention of the family of Lucy was made by Henry I of the lordship of Dice therein to Richard de Lucie, Governor of Falaise who later played a prominent role in the contests of King Stephen's reign. He was more than once Lieutenant of England. 2

"In 1165, Richard de Lucy's barony in Passy ([, Normandy]) consisted of 19 fees. He also held 19 in Devon, besides others in Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk and in 1156 in Northumberland. Geoffry de Lucy held on fee in Devon in 1165." 3

Inglewood Forest in Cumberland was home to another branch of the family. "It was a forest only in the Scottish sense of the word; a wild open chace, 'full of woods, red and fallow deer, wild swine, and all manner of wild beasts.' The wild beasts included many wolves. There is a sad tradition respecting a lady of the Lucy family, who, walking one evening near her father's castle of Egremont, was attacked and torn to pieces by a famished wolf. The place where her mangled body was found is still marked by a cairn of stones, and known as Woeful Bank." 4

The Lucys of Charlecote, Warwickshire descend from Sir William de Charlecote who changed his name to Lucy. This latter claim of a name change is of some dispute but what is certain is that this was the same gentleman that Shakespeare apparently lampooned in the 1580s by mocking his name and suggesting his wife was unfaithful. Again, this claim cannot be verified.

Truro in Cornwall was an ancient home to some of the family. "The manor, in 1161, belonged to Richard de Luci, chief justice of England and lord of Truro, who probably built the castle (the site of which is still called Castle Hill), and who invested the inhabitants with numerous privileges, which were confirmed by Reginald Fitz-Henry, Earl of Cornwall, natural son of Henry I." 5

Another branch of the family was found at Lessness in Kent. It was here that Richard de Luci (1089-1179) of Richard de Lucy was High Sheriff of Essex and later Chief Justiciar of England (1154-1179.) He also founded "an abbey for Black canons, in honour of St. Mary and St. Thomas the Martyr in 1178." 5

Early History of the Lucey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lucey research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1400, 1525, 1551, 1585, 1592, 1594, 1614, 1619, 1640, 1647, 1653, 1658, 1660, 1667 and 1677 are included under the topic Early Lucey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lucey Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Lucy, Luce, Lucey, Lucie and others.

Early Notables of the Lucey family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William Lucy,High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1400; Sir Richard Lucy, 1st Baronet (c.1592-1667), an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1647 and 1658; William Lucy (1594-1677), an English clergyman, Bishop of St David's (1660-1677); Sir Thomas Lucy (d.1525); and his son, William Lucy (d.1551)...
Another 55 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Lucey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lucey Ranking

In the United States, the name Lucey is the 11,349^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Lucey family to Ireland

Some of the Lucey 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.

Lucey migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Lucey or a variant listed above:

Lucey Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Anthony and John Lucey, who settled in Philadelphia in 1838
Mrs. Lucey, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1860 7
Annie I. Lucey, aged 18, who landed in America from Tyrone, in 1892
Annie Lucey, aged 18, who settled in America, in 1895

Lucey Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Bessie Lucey, aged 5, who immigrated to the United States, in 1907
Abbey Lucey, aged 20, who immigrated to America from Macroom, Ireland, in 1907
Acheson Lucey, aged 5, who immigrated to the United States from Belfast, Ireland, in 1910
Catherine Lucey, aged 40, who settled in America from Queenstown, Ireland, in 1912
Aileen Gordon Lucey, aged 3, who landed in America from Belfast, Ireland, in 1917
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Lucey migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Lucey Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mr. Bartholomew Lucey, aged 25 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Henrietta Mary" departing 18th August 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 29th September 1847 but he died on board 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Lucey (post 1700) +

David J. Lucey (1915-1997), American football player and coach and a civil servant, Massachusetts Registrar of Motor Vehicles (1972 to 1974)
Harry Lucey (1913-1984), American comic artist best known for his work on the Archie Comics
Dorothy Lucey (b. 1958), American entertainment reporter
Joseph Earl "Scootch" Lucey (1897-1980), American Major League Baseball pitcher and shortstop
Patrick Joseph Lucey (1918-1971), American politician and diplomat, the 38th Governor of Wisconsin (1971 to 1977) and Ambassador to Mexico (1977-1979)
John Lucey, American Democratic Party politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Kings County 2nd District, 1923 9
J. F. Lucey, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940 9
Gregory C. Lucey, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Wisconsin Democratic State Central Committee, 1954 9
Frank M. Lucey, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1928 9
Dennis B. Lucey, American Democratic Party politician, Mayor of Ogdensburg, New York, 1896; Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York, 1912, 1912; U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, 1916-21 9
... (Another 11 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Lucey family +

USS Arizona

Mr. Neil Jermiah Lucey, American Seaman First Class from New Jersey, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 10

Citations +

Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
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)
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"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)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 84)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html