Maldred is an ancient name dating from the times of the
Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It was a name for a person who was a person noted for giving good counsel.
Early Origins of the Maldred family
The surname Maldred was first found in
Cambridgeshire, at Aldreth, a hamlet that dates back to 1170 when it was listed as Alrehetha in the
Pipe Rolls. The name literally means "landing-place by the alders" from the Old English words for "alor" and "hyth."
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) However the surname dates back further and is recorded in the
Domesday Book as Aldreth and Ealdred as holding lands under the Norman King William soon after the Conquest in 1086. In fact, Aldred was a famous ecclesiastic, who was Bishop of York from 1044-1060, and Archbishop of York from 1060-1069, and it was he who crowned the Conqueror.
Early History of the Maldred family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Maldred research.
Another 117 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1198, 1552, 1632, 1653, 1561, 1624, 1586, 1588, 1563, 1646 and 1646 are included under the topic Early Maldred History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Maldred Spelling Variations
Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few
hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently,
spelling variations in names are frequently found in early
Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Maldred include Aldred, Aldreth, Aldret and others.
Early Notables of the Maldred family (pre 1700)
Notables of the family at this time include John Eldred (1552-1632), an English traveler and merchant. Born in New Buckenham,
Norfolk, after his parents moved from
Suffolk, he traveled to Tripoli and returned home with a ship full of goods that were sold making him a wealthy man with a large...
Another 104 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Maldred Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Maldred family to the New World and Oceana
Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in
England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Maldred were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Robert Aldred, who settled in Virginia in 1635; William Aldred arrived in Philadelphia in 1834 and moved westward.