Rasbottom History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

In ancient Anglo-Saxon England, the ancestors of the Rasbottom surname lived in the region of Romsbottom in the county of Lancashire. Rasbottom 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.

Early Origins of the Rasbottom family

The surname Rasbottom was first found in Lancashire in the parish of Bury at Romsbottom (now known as Ramsbottom). Today it is a market town in Greater Manchester but anciently the town was known as Romesbothum in 1324. 1 Literally the place name means "valley of the ream, or where wild garlic grows from the Old English "ramm" or "hramsa" + "bothm." 1

Early History of the Rasbottom family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rasbottom research. Another 75 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Rasbottom History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rasbottom Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Rasbottom are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Rasbottom include: Ramsbottom, Ramsbotham, Rasbottom and others.

Early Notables of the Rasbottom family

More information is included under the topic Early Rasbottom Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rasbottom migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 2

Rasbottom Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. Thomas Rasbottom, (b. 1611), aged 23, British settler travelling from London, UK arriving in St Christopher (St. Kitts) on 5th January 1634 3

The Rasbottom Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Non vi, sed virtute
Motto Translation: Not by force, but by virtue

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
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)