Show ContentsPayge History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient name of Payge finds its origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from a name for a server or personal attendant to a Lord or nobleman. 1 Occupational names that were derived from the common trades of the medieval era transcended European cultural and linguistic boundaries. Occupational names have remained fairly common in the modern period. This is attested to by the continuing appearance of occupational suffixes at the end of many English surnames. Some of these suffixes include: herd, monger, maker, hewer, smith, and wright.

Early Origins of the Payge family

The surname Payge was first found in Devon where one of the first records of the name was Ralph Page who was listed there in the Pipe Rolls of 1230. A few years later William le Page was listed in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1240. 2 Lambert Page was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 in Yorkshire. 3 And a few years late to the north, John Page was one of the Scottish prisoners taken in Dunbar Castle in 1296 and confined in Tunbridge Castle. 4 At some point, a branch of the family was established at Steeple Aston in Oxfordshire. " In a chapel on the north side of the chancel are recumbent effigies of Sir Francis Page and his lady, to whom the manor of Middle Aston formerly belonged: Sir Francis destroyed some monuments of the Dinham family to make room for his own, which was erected in his life-time." 5

Early History of the Payge family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Payge research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1628, 1669, 1692, 1693, 1695, 1708, 1720, 1723, 1775 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Payge History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Payge Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Payge family name include Page, Paige and others.

Early Notables of the Payge family

Distinguished members of the family include Sir Thomas Page of Somerset; and Colonel John Page (1628-1692), from Bedfont, Middlesex, an English merchant and settler in Middle Plantation on the Virginia Peninsula, member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Council of the Virginia Colony; Gregory Page (died 1693); and his son...
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Payge Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Payge family to Ireland

Some of the Payge family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 70 words (5 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 Payge family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Payge surname or a spelling variation of the name include : Robert Page settled in Boston with his wife and three children in 1637; Thomas Page settled in Boston with his wife and two children in 1635; Elizabeth Page settled with her husband Edward in Barbados in 1670.



  1. Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  5. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.


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