Lunsford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancient history of the Lunsford name begins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the family resided beside a river. Lunsford 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 Lunsford family

The surname Lunsford was first found in Sussex, where they held a family seat from the Middle Ages.

Early History of the Lunsford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lunsford research. Another 237 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1500, 1609, 1611, 1633, 1640, 1641, 1645, 1649 and 1656 are included under the topic Early Lunsford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lunsford Spelling Variations

Until 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 Lunsford include Lunsford, Lunsforde, Lansforde, Lansford and others.

Early Notables of the Lunsford family

Notables of the family at this time include

Sir Thomas Lunsford (ca.1611-1656), Royalist colonel in the English Civil War who killed Sir Thomas Pelham in 1633

Lunsford Ranking

In the United States, the name Lunsford is the 1,995^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 1

Lunsford migration to the United States +

Searching 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 Lunsford or a variant listed above:

Lunsford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Sir Thomas Lunsford, who landed in Virginia in 1653 2

Lunsford Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Belle Lunsford, aged 35, who arrived in New York in 1905 aboard the ship "Silvia" from St. John's, Newfoundland 3
Mrs R.E. Lunsford, who arrived in New York in 1910 aboard the ship "La Provence" from Havre, France 3
C. Julian Lunsford, aged 33, who arrived in New York in 1922 aboard the ship "Homeric" from Southampton, England 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Lunsford (post 1700) +

Wayne Lunsford, American politician, Candidate in primary for Mayor of Covington, Kentucky, 1971
W. J. Lunsford, American politician, Delegate to Kentucky secession convention, 1861
R. L. Lunsford, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Oklahoma, 1928
Fred Lunsford, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Huntington, West Virginia, 1944-49 (acting, 1944-49)
Frank L. Lunsford, American politician, Member of Georgia State Senate, 1950
Ed Lunsford, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Nevada, 1944
Charles Pinkney Lunsford (1861-1943), American Republican politician, Merchant; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Alabama, 1912, 1916 (alternate), 1924 (alternate); Candidate for U.S. Senator from Alabama, 1920
Mike Lunsford, American businessman, chief executive officer of SK Planet, Inc, former CEO of Earthlink
Melvin T. "Mel" Lunsford (b. 1950), American NFL football player who played for the New England Patriots from 1973 to 1980
William "Bruce" Lunsford (b. 1947), American Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Kentucky (2008)
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

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)
Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result