Pownd History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Pownd reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Pownd family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Pownd family lived in Hampshire. Their name, however, is a reference to the Old English word pound, meaning an enclosure where animals were kept, and indicates that the original bearer lived near such a structure.

Early Origins of the Pownd family

The surname Pownd was first found in Hampshire where they were granted lands by Wiliam the Conqueror for their assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. They held a family seat as Lords of the manor of Drayton in that shire. Unfortunately the grant and details of the village and lands of Drayton, according to the Domesday Book taken in 1086 have been lost, and it is not possible to identify the residence at that time.

Early History of the Pownd family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pownd research. Another 55 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1550, 1573, 1669, 1687, 1689, 1690, 1694, 1697, 1703 and 1724 are included under the topic Early Pownd History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pownd Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Pownd, Pownde, Pound, Pounds, Pounde, de la Pound and others.

Early Notables of the Pownd family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was James Pound (1669-1724), English astronomer, was the son of John Pound, of Bishop's Canning, Wiltshire. He matriculated at St. Mary Hall, Oxford, on 16 March 1687; graduated B.A. from Hart Hall on 27 Feb. 1694, and M.A. from Gloucester Hall in the...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Pownd Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pownd migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Pownd name or one of its variants:

Pownd Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jo Pownd, aged 20, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Transport" 1

Citations +

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)