Show ContentsRawsthorn History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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  • England
Rawsthorn Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Rawsthorn

What does the name Rawsthorn mean?

Rawsthorn is one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England in 1066. The Rawsthorn family lived in Yorkshire, at Rostherne. Rawsthorn is derived from Old Norman names that mean red, and torn. Accordingly, the name means dweller by the thorns.

Early Origins of the Rawsthorn family

The surname Rawsthorn was first found in Yorkshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the manor of Fryston, and were conjecturally descended from Gerbodo, a Norman noble, who held those lands at the time of the taking of the Domesday Book in 1086, a census initiated by Duke William of Normandy after his conquest of England in 1066. This family emerged with several basic spellings, Rawson, which became popular in Yorkshire in all their various branches, Rawsthorne and Rawstorne and Rostron and Rawstorn all became more popular in Lancashire.

Early History of the Rawsthorn family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rawsthorn research. Another 94 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1683 and 1965 are included under the topic Early Rawsthorn History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Rawsthorn Spelling Variations

Before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Sound was what guided spelling in the Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Rawsthorn family name include Rawstorne, Rawsthorne, Rawstorn, Rawstron, Rawstrone, Rawsthorn, Rostron and many more.

Early Notables of the Rawsthorn family

  • Rawsthorne of Yorkshire

Migration of the Rawsthorn family

To escape the political and religious chaos of this era, thousands of English families began to migrate to the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. The passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe; however, those who made the voyage safely were encountered opportunities that were not available to them in their homeland. Many of the families that reached the New World at this time went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. Research into various historical records has revealed some of first members of the Rawsthorn family to immigrate North America: Richard Rawston, who arrived in Maryland in 1678; John Rawthorne, who settled in Maryland in 1756; and Robert Rawsthorne, who arrived in New York in 1884..

Contemporary Notables of the name Rawsthorn (post 1700)+

  • Alice Rawsthorn OBE (b. 1958), British design critic and author, best known for her books Design as an Attitude (2018) and Hello World: Where Design Meets Life (2013)

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