Montford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Montford is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in England with the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Montford family lived in Warwickshire. The name, however, is a reference to the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, one of two places Montfort-sur-Lisle near Argentan in the Normandy district, or Montfort near Pont-Audemer, also in Normandy. 1

Early Origins of the Montford family

The surname Montford was first found in Warwickshire where the family claims descent from "Hugh de Montfort, son of Thurstan de Basternbergh, a Norman accompanied the Conqueror in 1066, and obtained for his services more than one hundred lordships in Kent, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk." 2

Nicknamed "Hugh with a Beard," he was son of Thurstan de Bastenburgh. His descendant Peter de Montford was one of the most zealous amongst the turbulent barons of the era and after the Battle of Lewes was one of the nine nominated to rule the kingdom, but he later fell at the conflict of Eversham. The direct male line became extinct with his great-grandson, Peter de Montfort who died in 1367 leaving a illegitimate son, Sir John Montfort to carry on the family. 3

Other early notables include: Simon IV de Montfort, Seigneur de Montfort-l'Amaury, 5th Earl of Leicester (1165-1218), a French nobleman who took part in the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) and died at the siege of Toulouse in 1218. His youngest son, Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester (c. 1208-1265), led the barons' rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263-1264, and subsequently became de facto ruler of England. He and his eldest son Sir Henry de Montfort were killed on 4 August 1265 at the Battle of Evesham. 4

Early History of the Montford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Montford research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1282, 1283, 1285, 1294, 1664 and 1692 are included under the topic Early Montford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Montford 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 Montford 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 Montford include Montfort, Montford, Mountford, Mountfort and others.

Early Notables of the Montford family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was William de Montfort (also Mountfort), an English medieval Canon law jurist, Chancellor of the University of Oxford (1282-1283), Dean of St Paul's...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Montford Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Montford Ranking

In the United States, the name Montford is the 17,227^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Montford migration to the United States +

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 Montford, or a variant listed above:

Montford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Elizabeth Montford, who landed in Maryland in 1668 6

Montford Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Anto Play Montford, aged 30, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1838 6

Montford migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Montford Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Henry Montford, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750

Contemporary Notables of the name Montford (post 1700) +

Melvin Montford, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 2004 7
John T. Montford, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Texas State Senate 28th District; Elected 1992, 1994; Resigned 1996 7
Arthur Montford (1929-2014), Scottish Television sports journalist, best known for his 32-year tenure as the presenter of Scottish Television's Scotsport
Montford George Southall (1907-1993), British bronze medalist track cyclist at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Citations +

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.
Burke, John Bernard, The Roll of Battle Abbey. London: Edward Churton, 26, Holles Street, 1848, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html